Telomere length in patients with obesity submitted to bariatric surgery: A systematic review.

Eleonora Peña, Josep León-Mengíbar, Timothy R Powell, Assumpta Caixàs, Narcís Cardoner, Araceli Rosa

Journal: European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association 2022;29(6):842-853

PMID: 34545641

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Abstract

BACKGROUND

Patients with obesity show evidence of increased levels of inflammation, oxidative stress and premature ageing. Telomere length (TL) is a key marker of cellular ageing, and patients with obesity often present shorter TL. Bariatric surgery (BS) is currently the most effective treatment for severe obesity. The aim of this systematic review was to explore whether the beneficial health effects observed after surgery in obese patients correspond to a restoration in TL or slower rates of shortening. As a secondary aim, we evaluated, at baseline and post-surgery, the relationship between TL and different factors that could play a role in TL changes along time.

METHODS

Searches for relevant articles were performed in MEDLINE, Web of Knowledge and SCOPUS. Prospective longitudinal studies that evaluated leukocyte TL in adult patients who had undergone BS were included. Data were extracted and evaluated by two independent researchers. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO with the number CRD42020197711.

RESULTS

Seven studies based on independent samples that fulfilled our inclusion criteria were included. Obese patients showed shorter telomeres compared to healthy individuals. Long-term studies (>2 years) seem to suggest an improvement in TL after surgery presumably due to the improvement of the inflammatory and oxidative levels of the patients induced by weight loss.

CONCLUSION

Studies seem to point towards a beneficial long-term effect of BS on TL recovery. However, the scarce number of studies and the heterogeneity in the variables analysed in the different cohorts make it difficult to draw a firm conclusion. More studies are needed to evaluate long-term changes to TL following BS.

Address: Secció de Zoologia i Antropologia Biològica, Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain.; Institut de Biomedicina, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain.; Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT), Corporacio Sanitària Parc taulí, Sabadell, Spain.; Endocrinology and Nutrition Department, Hospital Universitari Parc Tauli, Sabadell, Spain.; Medicine Department, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Sabadell, Spain.; Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.; Division of Infectious Diseases, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, New York, USA.; Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT), Corporacio Sanitària Parc taulí, Sabadell, Spain.; Endocrinology and Nutrition Department, Hospital Universitari Parc Tauli, Sabadell, Spain.; Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT), Corporacio Sanitària Parc taulí, Sabadell, Spain.; Mental Health Department, Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain.; Depression and Anxiety Program, Department of Mental Health, Parc Tauli Sabadell, Hospital Universitari, Barcelona, Spain.; Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.; Centre for Biomedical Network on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Instituto Salud Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain.; Secció de Zoologia i Antropologia Biològica, Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain.; Institut de Biomedicina, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain.; Centre for Biomedical Network on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Instituto Salud Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain.

DOI: 10.1002/erv.2865

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MeSH Terms: Adult, Bariatric Surgery, Humans, Obesity, Prospective Studies, Telomere, Telomere Shortening