Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40186152›Full record

ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2025

Maternal telomere length and oxidative stress in pregnancy: cross-sectional analysis with an exploratory examination of systemic inflammation.

Laura Etzel, Qiaofeng Ye, Abner T Apsley, Chris Chiaro, Lauren E Petri, John Kozlosky, Cathi Propper, Roger Mills-Koonce, Sarah J Short, Patricia Garrett-Peters and 1 more

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In one paragraph

Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Laura EtzelSocial Science Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Qiaofeng YeDepartment of Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University, 219 Biobehavioral Health Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
Abner T ApsleyDepartment of Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University, 219 Biobehavioral Health Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
Chris ChiaroDepartment of Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University, 219 Biobehavioral Health Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
Lauren E PetriDepartment of Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University, 219 Biobehavioral Health Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
John KozloskyDepartment of Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University, 219 Biobehavioral Health Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
Cathi PropperSchool of Nursing, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Roger Mills-KoonceSchool of Education, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Sarah J ShortDepartment of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
Patricia Garrett-PetersSocial Science Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Idan ShalevDepartment of Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University, 219 Biobehavioral Health Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA. ius14@psu.edu.

Funding

A mechanistic study of the association between poverty and executive functions in early childhood: Contributions of early brain development and the early caregiving environmentR01HD091148 · NICHD · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI PROPPER, CATHI BARBRA, SHORT, SARAH J · 2018 to 2022
$3.4M
Early Life Experience and Childhood Telomere Biology: A Longitudinal Study of Developmental Context and Behavioral MediatorsR01NR019610 · NINR · DUKE UNIVERSITY · PI GARRETT-PETERS, PATRICIA, SHALEV, IDAN · 2021 to 2025
$2.7M
NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD091148NINR NIH HHS R01 NR019610
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTelomere length (TL) is a marker of cellular aging associated with risk for age-related diseases and is known to be influenced by various factors, including oxidative stress and inflammation, in the contexts of stress and aging. The physiological demands of pregnancy may impact maternal TL, though research in this area is sparse. We tested oxidative stress and explored inflammation as predictors of maternal TL in a sample of women with normative pregnancies.

methodsParticipants (N = 88, aged 18 to 46 years, 25% non-Hispanic Black, 65% non-Hispanic White) were recruited during their 2nd or 3rd trimester. TL was measured using saliva via qPCR as absolute TL. Oxidative stress was derived from principal component analysis of selected metabolites measured via urinary metabolomics. Inflammation was quantified as total IL-6 in serum. Hypotheses were tested with stepwise generalized linear models.

resultsLonger TL was predicted by higher oxidative stress (b = 0.20 ± 0.08; P =.019), controlling for maternal age, gestational age, race/ethnicity, maternal BMI, and income-to-needs ratio. In our exploratory analysis, longer TL was also predicted by higher IL-6 (b = 0.76 ± 0.20; P =.0003) controlling for covariates. There was no significant interaction between oxidative stress and inflammation predicting TL.

conclusionOur findings suggest that in normative pregnancies, both oxidative stress and inflammation are independently associated with longer telomere length. Given that these associations are inconsistent with the role of oxidative stress and inflammation on telomere biology in non-pregnant samples, future work should aim to replicate these findings in both normal and high-risk pregnancies, explore mechanisms underlying these associations using longitudinal designs, and examine how these relationships influence maternal and fetal health.

Indexed as

InflammationOxidative StressTelomereTelomere HomeostasisAdolescentAdultCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansInterleukin-6Middle AgedPregnancyPregnancy Trimester, SecondPregnancy Trimester, ThirdSalivaYoung AdultInterleukin-6Biological agingInflammationOxidative stressPregnancyTelomere length

Identifiers

PMID40186152
PMCPMC11971816

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

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.