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Revista de investigación clínica
On-line version ISSN 2564-8896Print version ISSN 0034-8376
Abstract
SVYRYD, Yevgeniya et al. Telomeres Length Variations in a Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Cohort at Early Disease Onset and after Follow-Up. Rev. invest. clín. [online]. 2022, vol.74, n.4, pp.202-211. Epub Sep 30, 2022. ISSN 2564-8896. https://doi.org/10.24875/ric.22000048.
Background:
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by chronic synovial joint inflammation, progressive disability, premature immune aging, and telomere length (TL) shortening.
Objective:
The objective of the study was to study TL changes in patients at early disease onset and after follow-up.
Methods:
Relative leukocyte TL (rLTL) was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in 88 at-admission patients (AAP) with < 1 year of symptoms onset, self-compared after follow-up, and a reference group of sex- and age-matched healthy individuals. Correlations between rLTL percentage change after variable disease exposure time (DET) and clinical laboratory disease activity markers and treatments were assessed. Non-parametrical statistics were applied, considering < 0.05 p-value significant.
Results:
The median (p25, p75) rLTL was lower in patients after DET (0.61, 0.49-0.70) than in AAP (0.64, 0.50-0.77), p = 0.017. Furthermore, telomeres at early stages of RA were shorter than in the reference group (0.77, 0.59-0.92; p = 0.003). HLA-DRB1*04 allele carrier status did not significantly affect rLTL at an early stage and after follow-up. The patients’ rLTL shortening was mainly associated with longer at-admission telomeres (OR 16.2, 95%CI: 3.5-74.4; p < 0.0001).
Conclusion:
At follow-up, RA patients showed significantly shorter rLTL than AAP, particularly in those AAP with longer telomeres, disregarding disease activity and treatments, denoting an rLTL shortening effect influenced by age, DET, and native rLTL.
Keywords : Telomere length variations; Rheumatoid arthritis; Follow-up length changes.