Shorter leukocyte telomere length is associated with adverse COVID-19 outcomes: A cohort study in UK Biobank

  1. Qingning Wang
  2. Veryan Codd
  3. Zahra Raisi-Estabragh
  4. Crispin Musicha
  5. Vasiliki Bountziouka
  6. Stephen Kaptoge
  7. Elias Allara
  8. Emanuele Di Angelantonio
  9. Adam S. Butterworth
  10. Angela M. Wood
  11. John R. Thompson
  12. Steffen E Petersen
  13. Nicholas C. Harvey
  14. John N. Danesh
  15. Nilesh J. Samani
  16. Christopher P. Nelson

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Abstract

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  1. Version published to 10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103485
  2. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2021.03.20.21254010: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board StatementIRB: The UK Biobank has ethical approval from the North West Centre for Research Ethics Committee (Application 11/NW/0382), which covers the UK. UK Biobank obtained informed consent from all participants.
    Consent: The UK Biobank has ethical approval from the North West Centre for Research Ethics Committee (Application 11/NW/0382), which covers the UK. UK Biobank obtained informed consent from all participants.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    No key resources detected.

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    Our study has several limitations. UKB is not representative of the general UK population; only 6% of those invited to participate did so.22 Risk factor levels and mortality rates are lower than in the general population, although risk factor associations with mortality for a range of diseases are similar.23 Hence, further studies are warranted in other populations. Our one-sample Mendelian randomisation analysis in UKB had limited power to reliably estimate causal effects as fewer than one thousand participants had been hospitalised after a positive SARS-CoV-2 test and our genetic instrument of 131 variants, while using the most up to date information on LTL-associated variants, accounts for only ∼4% of inter-individual variation in LTL.11 While there are data from large genetic studies of COVID-1924, they could not be used in our analysis because the outcome definitions differed substantially from those we used, and because of their inclusion of within hospital testing that is potentially a collider with LTL and COVID-19 outcomes. Larger sample sizes with comparable disease phenotypes should, therefore, enable more precise evaluation of a potential causal association between shorter LTL and adverse COVID-19 outcomes. In conclusion, in the largest study to date, we provide evidence that shorter LTL, reflecting older biological age, is associated with higher risk of adverse COVID-19 outcomes, independent of several major risk factors for COVID-19.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  3. Version published to 10.1101/2021.03.20.21254010v1 on medRxiv