Non-Cochrane · aetiology · PM41923055
The association of periodontitis with telomere length: a meta-analysis.
Sun Qinqin, Xiao Jinqing, Huo Jinfeng · BMC medical genomics · 2026 · PubMed · doi:10.1186/s12920-026-02323-8
Findings
52 findings
| Population | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Sensitivity: fixed-effect model (trim-and-fill output, 9 effect sizes) | SMD -0.006 [-0.042, 0.029] GRADE not reported 9 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Age >=50 years | Standardized beta 0.001 [-0.01, 0.01] GRADE not reported 5 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length, association with periodontitis (standardized regression coefficient) Not specified (mostly cross-sectional; one prospective cohort) · Community and clinic based observational studies · Sensitivity analysis: excluding studies with NOS score <=4 | Standardized beta (β) -0.001 [-0.02, 0.01] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Adjusted for smoking: no | Standardized beta -0.001 [-0.04, 0.03] GRADE not reported 4 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Adjusted for income: no | Standardized beta -0.001 [-0.02, 0.01] GRADE not reported 7 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length, standardized mean difference between people with and without periodontitis Not specified (mostly cross-sectional; one prospective cohort) · Community and clinic based observational studies · Sample size >=700 participants | SMD 0.01 [-0.03, 0.05] GRADE not reported 2 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Region: Asian | Standardized beta -0.2 [-0.38, -0.03] GRADE not reported 2 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Age <50 years | Standardized beta -0.07 [-0.11, -0.03] GRADE not reported 3 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Gender: women | Standardized beta -0.02 [-0.07, 0.02] GRADE not reported 4 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length, standardized mean difference between people with and without periodontitis Not specified (mostly cross-sectional; one prospective cohort) · Community and clinic based observational studies · Trim-and-fill adjustment for publication bias (no studies trimmed) | SMD -0.029 [-0.091, 0.034] GRADE not reported 9 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Study quality: high | Standardized beta -0.001 [-0.01, 0.01] GRADE not reported 6 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Sensitivity: fixed-effect model (trim-and-fill output, 18 effect sizes) | Standardized beta -0.002 [-0.004, 0.0] GRADE not reported 18 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Region: non-Asian | SMD -0.01 [-0.07, 0.04] GRADE not reported 5 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Sample size <700 participants | Standardized beta -0.11 [-0.22, -0.001] GRADE not reported 5 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Adjusted for diabetes: no | Standardized beta -0.02 [-0.05, 0.02] GRADE not reported 7 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Age >=50 years | SMD -0.07 [-0.25, 0.12] GRADE not reported 3 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length, standardized mean difference between people with and without periodontitis Not specified (mostly cross-sectional; one prospective cohort) · Community and clinic based observational studies · Gender: women | SMD 0.07 [-0.08, 0.22] GRADE not reported 1 study |
| People with and without periodontitis | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length, association with periodontitis (standardized regression coefficient) Not specified (mostly cross-sectional; one prospective cohort) · Community and clinic based observational studies · Adjusted for sex: no | Standardized beta (β) -0.001 [-0.04, 0.03] GRADE not reported 4 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length, association with periodontitis (standardized regression coefficient) Not specified (mostly cross-sectional; one prospective cohort) · Community and clinic based observational studies · Adjusted for hypertension: no | Standardized beta (β) -0.001 [-0.02, 0.01] GRADE not reported 8 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Age not reported | SMD 0.01 [-0.03, 0.05] GRADE not reported 2 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length, association with periodontitis (standardized regression coefficient) Not specified (mostly cross-sectional; one prospective cohort) · Community and clinic based observational studies · Gender: both sexes combined | Standardized beta (β) -0.001 [-0.01, 0.01] GRADE not reported 10 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable | SMD -0.03 [-0.09, 0.03] GRADE not reported 7 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length, association with periodontitis (standardized regression coefficient) Not specified (mostly cross-sectional; one prospective cohort) · Community and clinic based observational studies · Adjusted for smoking: yes | Standardized beta (β) -0.001 [-0.02, 0.01] GRADE not reported 6 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Sample size <700 participants | SMD -0.14 [-0.29, 0.01] GRADE not reported 5 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Age not reported | Standardized beta -0.02 [-0.07, 0.02] GRADE not reported 2 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Gender: men | Standardized beta -0.01 [-0.04, 0.02] GRADE not reported 4 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Age <50 years | SMD -0.25 [-0.41, -0.09] GRADE not reported 2 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Adjusted for age: no | Standardized beta -0.001 [-0.03, 0.03] GRADE not reported 3 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Adjusted for ancestry: no | Standardized beta 0.001 [-0.02, 0.03] GRADE not reported 5 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length, standardized mean difference between people with and without periodontitis Not specified (mostly cross-sectional; one prospective cohort) · Community and clinic based observational studies · Gender: men | SMD -0.01 [-0.14, 0.11] GRADE not reported 1 study |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Sample size >=700 participants | Standardized beta 0.01 [-0.01, 0.02] GRADE not reported 5 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Adjusted for education: no | Standardized beta -0.001 [-0.02, 0.01] GRADE not reported 8 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Adjusted for BMI: no | Standardized beta -0.01 [-0.04, 0.02] GRADE not reported 6 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Sensitivity: excluding studies with NOS score <=4 | SMD -0.03 [-0.08, 0.02] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Study quality: low/moderate | SMD -0.03 [-0.11, 0.05] GRADE not reported 4 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length, association with periodontitis (standardized regression coefficient) Not specified (mostly cross-sectional; one prospective cohort) · Community and clinic based observational studies · Region: non-Asian | Standardized beta (β) -0.001 [-0.01, 0.01] GRADE not reported 8 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length, association with periodontitis (standardized regression coefficient) Not specified (mostly cross-sectional; one prospective cohort) · Community and clinic based observational studies · Trim-and-fill adjustment for publication bias (no studies trimmed) | Standardized beta (β) -0.002 [-0.010, 0.007] GRADE not reported 18 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length, association with periodontitis (standardized regression coefficient) Not specified (mostly cross-sectional; one prospective cohort) · Community and clinic based observational studies · Adjusted for age: yes | Standardized beta (β) -0.001 [-0.02, 0.01] GRADE not reported 7 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · BMI <30 kg/m2 | Standardized beta 0.01 [-0.001, 0.02] GRADE not reported 2 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Adjusted for income: yes | Standardized beta -0.03 [-0.1, 0.04] GRADE not reported 3 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Study quality: high | SMD -0.04 [-0.16, 0.09] GRADE not reported 3 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length, association with periodontitis (standardized regression coefficient) Not specified (mostly cross-sectional; one prospective cohort) · Community and clinic based observational studies · Adjusted for hypertension: yes | Standardized beta (β) -0.02 [-0.07, 0.04] GRADE not reported 2 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Adjusted for ancestry: yes | Standardized beta -0.001 [-0.02, 0.01] GRADE not reported 5 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length, standardized mean difference between people with and without periodontitis Not specified (mostly cross-sectional; one prospective cohort) · Community and clinic based observational studies · Gender: both sexes combined | SMD -0.06 [-0.14, 0.03] GRADE not reported 7 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Adjusted for BMI: yes | Standardized beta -0.001 [-0.02, 0.01] GRADE not reported 4 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Adjusted for diabetes: yes | Standardized beta -0.001 [-0.02, 0.01] GRADE not reported 3 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · BMI >=30 kg/m2 | Standardized beta -0.03 [-0.1, 0.05] GRADE not reported 2 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable · Region: Asian | SMD -0.44 [-0.82, -0.06] GRADE not reported 2 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis (case-control, cross-sectional and cohort samples) | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length (leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells) Not applicable | Standardized beta -0.001 [-0.01, 0.01] GRADE not reported 10 studies · 22625 participants |
| People with and without periodontitis | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length, association with periodontitis (standardized regression coefficient) Not specified (mostly cross-sectional; one prospective cohort) · Community and clinic based observational studies · Adjusted for education: yes | Standardized beta (β) -0.02 [-0.07, 0.04] GRADE not reported 2 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length, association with periodontitis (standardized regression coefficient) Not specified (mostly cross-sectional; one prospective cohort) · Community and clinic based observational studies · Study quality: low/moderate (NOS) | Standardized beta (β) -0.001 [-0.02, 0.02] GRADE not reported 4 studies |
| People with and without periodontitis | Periodontitis (exposure) | No periodontitis | Telomere length, association with periodontitis (standardized regression coefficient) Not specified (mostly cross-sectional; one prospective cohort) · Community and clinic based observational studies · Adjusted for sex: yes | Standardized beta (β) -0.001 [-0.02, 0.01] GRADE not reported 6 studies |
Included primary studies 10
Open in Studies| Study | Year | Also included by | Outcomes it informs here | Trial data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masi 2014 Association between short leukocyte telomere length, endotoxemia, and severe periodontitis in people with diabetes: a cross-sectional… PMID:24652728 | 2014 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Masi 2011 Oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and telomere length in patients with periodontitis. PMID:21195167 | 2011 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Nguyen 2022 Biological Aging and Periodontal Disease: Analysis of NHANES (2001-2002). PMID:33605165 | 2022 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Nguyen 2025 Serum Nutrients, Periodontitis and Biological Ageing. PMID:39805716 | 2025 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Sanders 2015 Telomere length attrition and chronic periodontitis: an ARIC Study nested case-control study. PMID:25418689 | 2015 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Shen 2025 Association of leukocyte telomere length with periodontal attachment loss based on a cross-sectional study. PMID:39955535 | 2025 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Song 2021 Association of periodontitis with leukocyte telomere length in US adults: A cross-sectional analysis of NHANES 1999 to 2002. PMID:32996594 | 2021 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Sonoki 2024 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Takahashi 2004 Telomere length in leukocytes and cultured gingival fibroblasts from patients with aggressive periodontitis. PMID:15025219 | 2004 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Thomson 2016 Telomere length and periodontal attachment loss: a prospective cohort study. PMID:26713854 | 2016 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
Overlap with other reviews
Reviews that include the same primary studies are not independent evidence. Shared counts match studies by PMID, DOI or NCT, and otherwise by author and year (a probable match). Only the non-Cochrane dental reviews have study lists, so overlap with Cochrane reviews is not counted yet.
| Review | Shared studies | Jaccard |
|---|---|---|
| Prevalence and incidence of infections among people with type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. (2026) | 1 | 0.01 |
Review question
| Element | Planned (methods) | Found (results) |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Patients diagnosed with periodontitis and subjects without periodontitis (controls), TL measured from leukocytes or gingival crevicular epithelium cells | People with and without periodontitis; 10 studies, 22,625 participants; mean age 27.9 to 74.3 years |
| Intervention | Periodontitis (exposure) | Periodontitis (exposure) |
| Comparison | No periodontitis | No periodontitis |
| Outcomes | Telomere length (SMD of mean TL; standardized beta coefficient) | Telomere length (SMD in 7 studies; standardized beta in 10 studies) |
| Study designs | Observational studies (case-control, cohort, cross-sectional) | 10 observational studies (9 cross-sectional or case-control, 1 prospective cohort) |
| Timing | Not specified | Not specified |