title: Association between telomere length and type 2 diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Several epidemiological studies have examined the association between shortened telomere length and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), while the results remained conflicting. We conducted a meta-analysis to derive a more precise estimation of the relationship between them.
  
  
  METHODS
  We systematically reviewed the databases of PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science for all studies on the association between telomere length and T2DM. We conducted this study assessed by STATA 11.0. Data were summarized using random-effects or fixed-effects meta-analysis. The heterogeneity and publication bias among studies were examined by using χ(2)-based Q statistic test and Egger's test, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nine cohorts consisting of 5759 cases and 6518 controls were selected into the meta-analysis. The results indicated that shortened telomere length was significantly associated with T2DM risk (OR: 1.291; 95% CI: 1.112, 1.498; P<0.001) with heterogeneity (I(2) = 71.6%). When three cohorts responsible for the heterogeneity were excluded, the pooled OR for the remaining cohorts indicated a significant association between shortened telomere length and T2DM (OR: 1.117; 95% CI: 1.002, 1.246; P = 0.045) without heterogeneity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found a statistically significant association between shortened telomere length and T2DM.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Hypertension and Department of Internal Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Jinzhao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.forename: Haoran
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Dao Wen
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D016615:Telomere