Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34272332›Full record

Observational studyThorax2021

Peripheral blood leucocyte telomere length is associated with progression of interstitial lung disease in systemic sclerosis.

Shuo Liu, Melody P Chung, Brett Ley, Sarah French, Brett M Elicker, David F Fiorentino, Lorinda S Chung, Francesco Boin, Paul J Wolters

Open access · bronzeAbstract readObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in Thorax, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
4.7field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

24 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Review
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  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Associations with, and predictors of, progression in systemic sclerosis-related interstitial lung disease: a scoping literature review.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2026
    Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. The Role of Inflammation and Fibrosis in Interstitial Lung Disease Treatment Decisions.American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2024
    Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Shuo LiuDivision of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4067-2261
Melody P ChungDivision of Immunology and Rheumatology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Brett LeyDivision of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
Sarah FrenchDivision of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
Brett M ElickerDivision of Radiology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
David F FiorentinoDepartment of Dermatology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Lorinda S ChungDivision of Immunology and Rheumatology, Department of Dermatology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Francesco BoinDivision of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Paul J WoltersDivision of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA Paul.Wolters@ucsf.edu.
University of California, San Francisco · USStanford University · USCedars-Sinai Medical Center · US

Funding

Training Program in Adult and Pediatric RheumatologyT32AR050942 · NIAMS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI LEWIS, DAVID BRAM, ROBINSON, WILLIAM H · 2005 to 2025
$6.6M
Lung Remodeling Mediated by Telomere Dysfunction in Alveolar Type II CellsR01HL139897 · NHLBI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI Paul j WOLTERS · 2018 to 2026
$5.5M
NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL139897NIAMS NIH HHS T32 AR050942
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPeripheral blood leucocyte telomere length (PBL-TL) is associated with outcomes in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Whether PBL-TL is associated with progression of systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) is unknown.

methodsA retrospective observational cohort study was performed using prospectively collected data from 213 patients with SSc followed at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Scleroderma Center. PBL-TL was measured by quantitative PCR of DNA isolated from peripheral blood. Associations between PBL-TL and pulmonary function test trends in patients with SSc-ILD were assessed by longitudinal analysis using Generalised Linear Mixed Models. Findings were validated in a cohort of 61 patients with SSc-ILD enrolled in the Stanford University Scleroderma Center database.

resultsPatients with UCSF SSc with ILD were found to have shorter PBL-TL compared with those without ILD (6554±671 base pairs (bp) vs 6782±698 bp, p=0.01). Shorter PBL-TL was associated with the presence of ILD (adjusted OR 2.1 per 1000 bp TL decrease, 95% CI [1.25 to 3.70], p=0.006). PBL-TL was shorter in patients with SSc-ILD lacking SSc-specific autoantibodies compared with seropositive subjects (6237±647 bp vs 6651±653 bp, p=0.004). Shorter PBL-TL was associated with increased risk for lung function deterioration with an average of 67 mL greater loss in per year for every 1000 bp decrease in PBL-TL in the combined SSc-ILD cohorts (longitudinal analysis, adjusted model: 95% CI -104 mL to -33 mL, p<0.001).

conclusionsThese findings suggest that telomere dysfunction may be associated with SSc-ILD progression and that PBL-TL measurement may be useful for stratifying risk for SSc-ILD progression.

Indexed as

Idiopathic Pulmonary FibrosisLung Diseases, InterstitialScleroderma, SystemicHumansLungRetrospective StudiesTelomereconnective tissue disease associated lung diseaseinterstitial fibrosisrare lung diseasessystemic disease and lungs

Identifiers

PMID34272332
PMCPMC9262637
OpenAlexW3177743374

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.