SynthesisPhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences2018
The relationship between telomere length and mortality risk in non-model vertebrate systems: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 94 papers, 2 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
94 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 276 citations in OpenAlex.
- A meta-analysis on the heritability of vertebrate telomere length.Journal of evolutionary biology · 2022Pooled it
- Developmental history, energetic state and choice impulsivity in European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris.Animal cognition · 2019Pooled it
- Pervasive sublethal impacts of heat exposure revealed by telomere dynamics.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2026Article
- Reproductive Drivers of Temporal Telomere Dynamics in Female Tree Swallows.Molecular ecology · 2026Article
- Telomere Length at Recruitment Predicts Lifespan and Lifetime Reproductive Success in the Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica).Molecular ecology · 2026Article
- Ageing in Honeybees: Telomere Length Is Driven by Climate and Resource Availability Rather Than Urbanisation or Pollution.Global change biology · 2026Article
- Mothers Matter Most: Maternal, but Not Paternal, Age and Inbreeding Affect Nestling Telomere Length in a Wild Passerine.Molecular ecology · 2026Article
- Effects of Light Spectrum and Intensity on Cellular Stress Responses in Baikal Whitefish and Its Hybrid Embryos: A Basis for Optimizing the Aquaculture Environment.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- The ecology of gestational growth in a wild cooperative mammal.The Journal of animal ecology · 2026Article
- Short- and long-term costs of reproduction revealed by telomere dynamics in wild greater horseshoe bats.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Is Telomere Length Optimized in Hatchling Sand Lizards?Evolution & development · 2025Article
- Is Telomere Length Optimized in Hatchling Sand Lizards?Evolution & development · 2025Article
- Assortative breeding experiment in a songbird suggests telomere length is determined during early life rather than at conception.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Genetic, phenotypic, and environmental drivers of local adaptation and climate change-induced maladaptation in a migratory songbird.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Telomere-Related Gene Networks in the Ovary Shift Across Environmental Factors.Journal of experimental zoology. Part A, Ecological and integrative physiology · 2025Article
- Persistent maternal age effects on male offspring fitness traits in a wild mammal population.Evolution letters · 2025Article
- Growth but Not Corticosterone, Oxidative Stress, or Telomere Length Is Negatively Affected by Microplastic Exposure in a Filter-Feeding Amphibian.Journal of experimental zoology. Part A, Ecological and integrative physiology · 2025Article
- Fluctuating salinity during development impacts fish life histories.The Journal of animal ecology · 2025Article
- Telomere Tales: Exploring the Impact of Stress, Sociality, and Exercise on Dogs' Cellular Aging.Veterinary sciences · 2025Article
- Sex Differences in Telomere Length in a Bat With Female-Biased Longevity.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
34 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
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Telomere length (TL) has become a biomarker of increasing interest within ecology and evolutionary biology, and has been found to predict subsequent survival in some recent avian studies but not others. Here, we undertake the first formal meta-analysis to test whether there is an overall association between TL and subsequent mortality risk in vertebrates other than humans and model laboratory rodents. We identified 27 suitable studies and obtained standardized estimates of the hazard ratio associated with TL from each. We performed a meta-analysis on these estimates and found an overall significant negative association implying that short telomeres are associated with increased mortality risk, which was robust to evident publication bias. While we found that heterogeneity in the hazard ratios was not explained by sex, follow-up period, maximum lifespan or the age group of the study animals, the TL-mortality risk association was stronger in studies using qPCR compared to terminal restriction fragment methodologies. Our results provide support for a consistent association between short telomeres and increased mortality risk in birds, but also highlight the need for more research into non-avian vertebrates and the reasons why different telomere measurement methods may yield different results.This article is part of the theme issue 'Understanding diversity in telomere dynamics'.
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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.