Shorter Telomeres and Faster Telomere Attrition in Individuals With Five Syndromic Forms of Intellectual Disability: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Article
Hanley, Sarah M., Schutte, Nicola S., Bellamy, Jessica and Denham, Joshua. 2025. "Shorter Telomeres and Faster Telomere Attrition in Individuals With Five Syndromic Forms of Intellectual Disability: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis." Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. 69 (8), pp. 641-654. https://doi.org/10.1111/jir.13244
| Article Title | Shorter Telomeres and Faster Telomere Attrition in Individuals With Five Syndromic Forms of Intellectual Disability: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis |
|---|---|
| ERA Journal ID | 20521 |
| Article Category | Article |
| Authors | Hanley, Sarah M., Schutte, Nicola S., Bellamy, Jessica and Denham, Joshua |
| Journal Title | Journal of Intellectual Disability Research |
| Journal Citation | 69 (8), pp. 641-654 |
| Number of Pages | 14 |
| Year | 2025 |
| Publisher | John Wiley & Sons |
| Place of Publication | United Kingdom |
| ISSN | 0964-2633 |
| 1365-2788 | |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1111/jir.13244 |
| Web Address (URL) | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jir.13244 |
| Abstract | Background: People 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. Methods: PubMed, 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. Results: Fifteen 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. Conclusions: Consistent 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. © 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Intellectual Disability Research published by MENCAP and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. |
| Keywords | biological ageing; down syndrome; gene dosage; Hoyeraal–Hreidarsson syndrome; telomerase |
| Contains Sensitive Content | Does not contain sensitive content |
| ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 310599. Genetics not elsewhere classified |
| 520203. Cognitive neuroscience | |
| Byline Affiliations | University of New England |
| University of Wollongong | |
| University of New South Wales | |
| School of Health and Medical Sciences | |
| Centre for Health Research |
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