Sex-Specific Association Of Telomere Length With Individualized Expected Years Of Life Lost Among 203,731 Males And 241,668 Females
Our bodies have tiny protective caps on the ends of our chromosomes, called telomeres, which are often linked to aging and health. A recent large-scale study has uncovered a fascinating and complex truth: how the length of these telomeres relates to an individual’s expected years of life lost—a measure of how many years a person might lose from their expected lifespan—is not the same for everyone. For men, having longer telomeres generally means a lower number of expected years of life lost. However, for women, the picture is more nuanced. While women overall showed an increase in expected years of life lost with longer telomeres, this trend reversed after menopause, where longer telomeres were then associated with fewer expected years of life lost, similar to men. This suggests that hormones play a significant role in how telomeres influence our lifespan, highlighting the importance of considering biological sex and menopausal status in future health research and clinical approaches to aging.
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