SynthesisMolecular psychiatry2018
Early life adversity and telomere length: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Molecular psychiatry, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 159 papers, 5 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.
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.
Who cites it
159 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Impact of adverse childhood experiences on analgesia-related outcomes: a systematic review.British journal of anaesthesia · 2025Pooled it
- The impact of adverse childhood experiences on multimorbidity: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Association between Childhood Exposure to Family Violence and Telomere Length: A Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Basal cortisol, cortisol reactivity, and telomere length: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2019Pooled it
- Adverse Childhood Experiences and Telomere Length a Look Into the Heterogeneity of Findings-A Narrative Review.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2019Pooled it
- Energy constraint on human health.Trends in endocrinology and metabolism: TEM · 2026Review
- Accelerated aging in schizophrenia: integrating epigenetic clocks, telomere dynamics, senescence-associated secretory phenotype, and oxidative stress.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Review
- Early Adversity Imprints Multisystem Biological Aging: A Longitudinal Study of Adversity Dimensions and Aging Phenotypes Across Adolescence.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2026Article
- Consistent changes in global gene expression patterns despite strong variation in individual gene expression in the male mouse hippocampus following early life stress.Neurobiology of stress · 2026Article
- Plasma Multiomics Links Early-Life Adversity to Disease and Cardiometabolic Health: A Population-Based Cohort Study.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2026Article
- Adverse childhood and adult experiences, intrinsic capacity decline, and subsequent physical-psychological-cognitive multimorbidity: a prospective cohort study from China.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2026Article
- Cardiometabolic Biomarkers at Age 44-45 in the Psychosis Spectrum: The British National Child Development Study.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2026Article
- Social Interactions and Cell Aging Dynamics in Postpartum Women.Biological research for nursing · 2026Article
- The ecology of gestational growth in a wild cooperative mammal.The Journal of animal ecology · 2026Article
- Article
- The impact of childhood maltreatment and parental styles on telomere length: the modulatory role of A118G.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2025Article
- A lifespan approach to biological aging: Early adversity, past-year trauma, and telomere length in women.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025Article
- Remote Blood Collection for Telomere Length Measurement: Assessing the Impact of Sample Characteristics and Handling on DNA Quality and Assay Outcomes.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2025Article
- The epigenetic impacts of pubertal acceleration following early caregiver disruptions.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Delayed complications of sulfur mustard poisoning: a focus on inflammation and telomere footprint.Archives of toxicology · 2025Review
99 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
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Early adversity, in the form of abuse, neglect, socioeconomic status and other adverse experiences, is associated with poor physical and mental health outcomes. To understand the biologic mechanisms underlying these associations, studies have evaluated the relationship between early adversity and telomere length, a marker of cellular senescence. Such results have varied in regard to the size and significance of this relationship. Using meta-analytic techniques, we aimed to clarify the relationship between early adversity and telomere length while exploring factors affecting the association, including adversity type, timing and study design. A comprehensive search in July 2016 of PubMed/MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Web of Science identified 2462 studies. Multiple reviewers appraised studies for inclusion or exclusion using a priori criteria; 3.9% met inclusion criteria. Data were extracted into a structured form; the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale assessed study quality, validity and bias. Forty-one studies (N=30 773) met inclusion criteria. Early adversity and telomere length were significantly associated (Cohen's d effect size=-0.35; 95% CI, -0.46 to -0.24; P<0.0001). Sensitivity analyses revealed no outlier effects. Adversity type and timing significantly impacted the association with telomere length (P<0.0001 and P=0.0025, respectively). Subgroup and meta-regression analyses revealed that medication use, medical or psychiatric conditions, case-control vs longitudinal study design, methodological factors, age and smoking significantly affected the relationship. Comprehensive evaluations of adversity demonstrated more extensive telomere length changes. These results suggest that early adversity may have long-lasting physiological consequences contributing to disease risk and biological aging.
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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.