# Maternal experience of intimate partner violence, maternal depression, and parental stress are not associated with child telomere length in Bangladesh

## TL;DR

The study found no strong link between maternal stress and child telomere length in rural Bangladesh, suggesting early-life stress effects may vary by setting.

## Contribution

This study is novel in examining maternal stressors and child telomere length in a low-income setting, revealing context-specific biological responses.

## Key findings

- Maternal exposure to intimate partner violence during pregnancy was weakly linked to greater telomere shortening in children.
- Other maternal stressors like depression and perceived stress were not associated with child telomere length.
- Telomere biology in early life may differ across socioeconomic and cultural contexts.

## Abstract

Shorter telomere length (TL) is associated with an increased risk for developing chronic or age-related diseases in adults. The process of telomere shortening is accelerated in response to stress and is well characterized in adult populations from high-income countries. Prior studies suggest the relationship between stress, shorter TL, and disease risk initiates in early life. Nested within the WASH Benefits Bangladesh trial, we examined associations between parental stressors, including maternal exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV), maternal depressive symptoms, and parental perceived stress, and child TL in rural Bangladesh. We measured whole blood relative TL in 660 children at median age 14 months and 702 children at median age 28 months. We estimated mean differences between the 25th and 75th percentile or absence and presence of each exposure using generalized additive models. IPV during pregnancy was associated with more TL attrition between 14 and 28 months (− 0.32 (95% CI − 0.64, − 0.01), p-value 0.05). This association was not significant after correction for multiple comparisons. Other parental psychosocial stressors were not associated with child TL outcomes at 14 or 28 months of age in rural Bangladesh. Telomere biology during early-life development may vary across settings.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-025-90505-2.