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Regression to the mean, apparent data errors and biologically extraordinary results: letter regarding ‘changes in telomere length 3–5 years after gastric bypass surgery’

International Journal of Obesity volume 42, pages 949–950 (2018)Cite this article

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The paper by Dershem et al.1 contains an extraordinary claim, namely that ‘This study confirms that TL lengthening (telomere length) is observed post bariatric surgery …’. ‘Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.’ So wrote Carl Sagan in 1979.2 Nearly 40 years later, we have noted that many extraordinary claims in the scientific literature result from data and statistical errors,3 and many authors are seeking to promote greater rigor in science in general4 and nutrition and obesity research in particular.5, 6, 7

The possibility of telomere length increasing during an individual’s lifetime is conceivable and has been previously raised. Yet, because current understanding of telomere biology is that they shorten with aging, at a relatively slow rate (25–35 basepair per year) across multiple tissues including leukocytes,8, 9 a compelling finding to the contrary would be ground-breaking.8

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Professor Abraham Aviv of Rutgers University for his helpful comments. Supported in part by NIH grants P30DK056336, R25DK099080 and R25HL124208.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    D L Smith Jr & D B Allison

  2. Department of Mathematical Sciences, United States Military Academy, West Point, NY, USA

    D M Thomas

  3. COS and Associates, Central, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    C O Siu

  4. Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    S Verhulst

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  1. D L Smith Jr
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Correspondence to D B Allison.

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Competing interests

COS serves as a consultant for Sunovion, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (Schizophrenia Program), University of Toronto and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Psychology, Biomedical Sciences). The remaining authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Smith, D., Thomas, D., Siu, C. et al. Regression to the mean, apparent data errors and biologically extraordinary results: letter regarding ‘changes in telomere length 3–5 years after gastric bypass surgery’. Int J Obes 42, 949–950 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2017.298

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