Accelerated leukocyte telomere erosion in schizophrenia: Evidence from the present study and a meta-analysis

Abstract Human telomeres consist of tandem nucleotide repeats (TTAGGG) and associated proteins, and telomere length (TL) is reduced progressively with cell division over the lifespan. Telomere erosion might be accelerated or prevented to varying degrees when exposure to serious medical illnesses. In previous studies, an association between TL decrease and schizophrenia has been extensively reported; however, the results remain largely controversial. To further investigate TL in schizophrenia patients and reconcile this controversy, we first measured leucocyte TL (LTL) in our samples (52 paranoid schizophrenia, 89 non-paranoid patients and 120 controls), and then conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of the existing results of LTL in patients of schizophrenia compared to healthy subjects. Totally, 11 studies encompassing 1243 patients of schizophrenia and 1274 controls were included in the final meta-analysis model. In our samples, significant reduction of LTL in paranoid schizophrenia was observed compared to controls (F = 50.88, P