Telomeres on the ends of chromosomes, here whiteIMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONSAdversity early in life takes its toll on one's chromosomes: A study of 100 Romanian children found that the more time children spend in institutional orphanages before the age of 5, the shorter their telomeres.
While previous studies have found that telomere length in adulthood correlated with self-reported childhood stress, the new research, published today (May 17) in Molecular Psychiatry, is the first to quantify the immediate impact of early life hardship on telomere length.
"This is an exciting study with sound methodology that adds to the very recent body of work demonstrating effects of childhood adversity on telomere shortening," Audrey Tyrka, who was not involved with the study and studies human behavior and psychiatry at Brown University, said in an email to The Scientist. "[It] is of great interest because it focuses on institutionalized children who are often neglected and are at risk for a range of adverse health outcomes."
Telomeres are stretches of non-coding DNA at the ends ...
