SynthesisBMC pregnancy and childbirth2025
Maternal smoking during pregnancy and newborn telomere length (TL): a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.
Synthesis in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Placental Pathophysiology and Developmental Programming of Adult Cardiometabolic Risk: A Narrative Review of Pregnancy Exposures.Pathophysiology : the official journal of the International Society for Pathophysiology · 2026Review
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTelomeres indicate cellular aging. Shortened telomeres are linked to various diseases and mortality, influenced by factors like inflammation, genetics, and environmental exposures, including smoking. Assessing newborn telomere length (TL) and maternal smoking association remains unexplored. A systematic review aims to fill this gap, potentially advancing clinical understanding and guiding future research.
methodsThis systematic review involved searching six English electronic databases—PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Embase, and CINAHL Complete—for records from their inception until February 2024. The review focused solely on observational studies. Included studies assessed the impact of maternal smoking during pregnancy on the TL of newborns. The quality of these studies was evaluated using the Newcastle–Ottawa quality assessment scale. A random-effect model was employed, and the statistical analysis was conducted with Stata software version 17.
resultsEight of 485 initial studies were included for systematic and five for meta-analysis. Eight studies involving 2,797 participants investigated prenatal smoking’s impact on infant telomere length, predominantly using qPCR and umbilical cord blood cells for measurement of TL. Five studies with 1,822 participants assessed the effect of maternal smoking during pregnancy on newborn TL, revealing a significant negative correlation (-0.19 [-0.32, -0.09]). Despite high heterogeneity (I2: 85.57%), no publication bias was found. Sensitivity analysis, excluding one study, showed a stronger correlation (-0.27 [-0.36, -0.17]) and reduced heterogeneity (I2: 53.21%). Subgroup analysis by nationality indicated a slightly stronger correlation in North American studies (-0.21 [-0.30, -0.12]) compared to Asian studies (-0.17 [-0.52, 0.17]). No significant differences were observed (p = 0.85).
conclusionA meta-analysis found maternal smoking in pregnancy correlates negatively with neonatal telomere length, impacting aging. Urgent awareness and further research are needed for preventive measures.
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