ArticleNature communications2013
Telomeres shorten at equivalent rates in somatic tissues of adults.
Article in Nature communications, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 367 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
367 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Maternal smoking during pregnancy and newborn telomere length (TL): a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Pooled it
- Maternal psychological stress during pregnancy and newborn telomere length: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Telomere length and chronological age across the human lifespan: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 414 study samples including 743,019 individuals.Ageing research reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Telomere Length, a New Biomarker of Male (in)Fertility? A Systematic Review of the Literature.Genes · 2023Pooled it
- Physical Activity on Telomere Length as a Biomarker for Aging: A Systematic Review.Sports medicine - open · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Telomere length in patients with osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2022Pooled it
- Telomere length in granulosa cells and leukocytes: a potential marker of female fertility? A systematic review of the literature.Journal of ovarian research · 2020Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effects of Hawthorn Fruit Supplementation on Facial Skin Phenotypes and Leukocyte Telomere Length Stratified byNutrients · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Quantile regression of the relationship between demographic factors and leukocyte telomere length, measured by Southern blot and qPCR.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Erythrocyte Count, Anemia, and the Human Natural Lifespan Limit: Evidence from the Long Life Family Study.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Telomere Length Is Determined by Intrinsic Factors and Is Shortened During Drought Years inEcology and evolution · 2026Article
- TARPON-A Telomere Analysis and Research Pipeline Optimized for Nanopore.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- Molecular pathways linking chronic psychological stress to accelerated aging: mechanisms and interventions.Frontiers in aging · 2026Review
- Mediated roles of oxidative stress and kidney function to leukocyte telomere length and prognosis in chronic kidney disease.Renal failure · 2025Article
- Telomere length in youth with type 1 diabetes and the role of physical fitness.Pediatric research · 2025Article
- A lifespan approach to biological aging: Early adversity, past-year trauma, and telomere length in women.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025Article
- No Evidence That Life History Strategies Shape Within-Body Mosaics of Ageing.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
307 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Telomere shortening in somatic tissues largely reflects stem cell replication. Previous human studies of telomere attrition were predominantly conducted on leukocytes. However, findings in leukocytes cannot be generalized to other tissues. Here we measure telomere length in leukocytes, skeletal muscle, skin and subcutaneous fat of 87 adults (aged 19-77 years). Telomeres are longest in muscle and shortest in leukocytes, yet are strongly correlated between tissues. Notably, the rates of telomere shortening are similar in the four tissues. We infer from these findings that differences in telomere length between proliferative (blood and skin) and minimally proliferative tissues (muscle and fat) are established during early life, and that in adulthood, stem cells of the four tissues replicate at a similar rate.
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Registered trials
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.