Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40274277›Full record

SynthesisJournal of intellectual disability research : JIDR2025

Shorter Telomeres and Faster Telomere Attrition in Individuals With Five Syndromic Forms of Intellectual Disability: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Sarah M Hanley, Nicola S Schutte, Jessica Bellamy, Joshua Denham

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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

4 authors.

Sarah M HanleySchool of Psychology, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.
Nicola S SchutteSchool of Psychology, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.
Jessica BellamySchool of Medical, Indigenous and Health Sciences, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
Joshua DenhamSchool of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-5804-4960

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPeople with intellectual disability suffer complex challenges due to adaptive functioning limitations, high rates of chronic diseases and shortened lifespans compared with the general population. Telomere shortening is a hallmark of ageing, and short telomeres are linked to neurological disorders. The main objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to identify any differences in telomere length and the rate of telomere attrition in leukocytes and fibroblasts from people with intellectual disability and controls.

methodsPubMed, Scopus and ScienceDirect were searched. Articles that compared telomere length in individuals with intellectual disability to apparently healthy age-matched controls were included. Risk of bias was assessed using the AXIS tool and data were analysed using CMA.

resultsFifteen studies comprised of 17 comparisons provided data and were included in meta-analyses. Compared with healthy controls (N = 481), people with intellectual disability (N = 366) from a known genetic syndrome (Cri du chat, Down, Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson, Williams or Nicolaides-Baraitser) possessed shorter leukocyte telomeres (SMD: -0.853 [95% CI: -1.622 to -0.084], p = 0.03). Similarly, relative to controls (N = 16), people with syndromic intellectual disability (N = 21) possessed shorter fibroblast telomeres (-1.389 [-2.179 to -0.599], p = 0.001). Furthermore, people with syndromic forms of intellectual disability also demonstrated a faster rate (2.09-fold) of telomere shortening.

conclusionsConsistent with epidemiological findings on mortality and morbidity risk, people with syndromic intellectual disability appear to undergo a faster rate of biological ageing compared to the general population. These findings emphasise the need for healthy ageing lifestyle (i.e., exercise and stress management) and therapeutic interventions for people with syndromic intellectual disability.

Indexed as

Intellectual DisabilityTelomere ShorteningHumansbiological ageingdown syndromegene dosageHoyeraal–Hreidarsson syndrometelomerase

Identifiers

PMID40274277
PMCPMC12245555

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.