Parental Age Effects on Offspring Telomere Length Across Vertebrates: A Meta-Analysis.

ABSTRACT: Telomeres shorten with advancing age in numerous species, and shorter telomeres are linked to increased mortality risk. While parental age at conception can influence offspring telomere length, the magnitude and direction of this effect differ across studies, species, and parental sexes. To understand how parental age influences offspring telomere length across vertebrates, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the effects of paternal and maternal age at conception on offspring telomere length, incorporating 99 effect sizes from 30 human studies and 49 effect sizes from 12 non-human vertebrate studies. There was a positive overall parental age effect on offspring telomere length within human studies, while no effect was found in non-human vertebrate studies after ad

SUBMITTER: Vlasova M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12817657 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature