ArticleLaboratory animals2017
Does age matter? The impact of rodent age on study outcomes.
Article in Laboratory animals, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 228 papers, 15 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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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
228 citing papers in PubMed, 15 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
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- Effects of exercise on α-synuclein in rodent models of Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Experimental brain research · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy of combined targeted radionuclide therapy and immune checkpoint Inhibition in animal tumour models: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature.European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging · 2025Pooled it
- Triterpenes in breast cancer: a systematic review of preclinical evidence in rodents.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Systematic Search and Modified e-Delphi Consensus for Serum Bone Biomarkers in Humans and Animal Models with SCI: Methodology.Topics in spinal cord injury rehabilitation · 2025Pooled it
- Substance use and spine density: a systematic review and meta-analysis of preclinical studies.Molecular psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Photobiomodulation therapy on skeletal muscles exposed to diabetes mellitus: a systematic review of animal studies.Lasers in medical science · 2023Pooled it
- Exposure to halogenated ethers causes neurodegeneration and behavioural changes in young healthy experimental animals: a systematic review and meta analyses.Scientific reports · 2023Pooled it
- Preclinical Large AnimalCurrent cardiology reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Meta-analysis Integrated With Multi-omics Data Analysis to Elucidate Pathogenic Mechanisms of Age-Related Knee Osteoarthritis in Mice.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2022Pooled it
- Hepatoprotection of Probiotics Against Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver DiseaseFrontiers in nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Management of Atopic Dermatitis Via Oral and Topical Administration of Herbs in Murine Model: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Pooled it
- Bored at home?-A systematic review on the effect of environmental enrichment on the welfare of laboratory rats and mice.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2022Pooled it
- A Handful of Details to Ensure the Experimental Reproducibility on the FORCED Running Wheel in Rodents: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2021Pooled it
- Exercise enhances aged chondrocyte health through microRNA-29-enriched extracellular vesicles.Nature aging · 2026Article
- Mice Undergo Organ-Specific Transcriptional and Metabolic Remodeling During Late Adolescence.Research square · 2026Article
- Cross-species characterisation of microglial morphology and proliferation during ageing.GeroScience · 2026Article
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168 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
16 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Rodent models produce data which underpin biomedical research and non-clinical drug trials, but translation from rodents into successful clinical outcomes is often lacking. There is a growing body of evidence showing that improving experimental design is key to improving the predictive nature of rodent studies and reducing the number of animals used in research. Age, one important factor in experimental design, is often poorly reported and can be overlooked. The authors conducted a survey to assess the age used for a range of models, and the reasoning for age choice. From 297 respondents providing 611 responses, researchers reported using rodents most often in the 6-20 week age range regardless of the biology being studied. The age referred to as 'adult' by respondents varied between six and 20 weeks. Practical reasons for the choice of rodent age were frequently given, with increased cost associated with using older animals and maintenance of historical data comparability being two important limiting factors. These results highlight that choice of age is inconsistent across the research community and often not based on the development or cellular ageing of the system being studied. This could potentially result in decreased scientific validity and increased experimental variability. In some cases the use of older animals may be beneficial. Increased scientific rigour in the choice of the age of rodent may increase the translation of rodent models to humans.
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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.