Children with ADHD and their mothers may live less than average population
Telomeres cap the ends of chromosomes and act as protection against the loss of protein-coding DNA during cell division. While telomere shortening happens naturally with aging, researches indicate the process is accelerated by psychological and biological stress. The shorter the telomeres are, shorter is the biological "life expectancy" of one. The study, published in Frontiers of Molecular Neuroscience , assessed the length of telomeres from 61 ADHD children (age 6 to 16) and their parents. Even among the children, who are beginning their lives, researchers found shorter telomeres than those that would be expected for their ages. Although mother's telomeres were also shorter, they did not find any alteration in the father's telomere length. The researchers believe the phenomenon is due to the stress that ADHD symptoms generate for the children and their mothers. Mothers are in most cases the main caretaker of the offspring, showing higher levels of depressive ...