Mixed
Telomere length (TL) functions as a biomarker of somatic redundancy (the body's capacity to absorb damage) rather than a direct indicator of biological age, as evidenced by the diminishing association between TL and mortality risk as subjects age.
Do not interpret short telomeres as a fixed 'biological age' penalty. Instead, view them as a measure of your current cellular resilience (somatic redundancy). The paper suggests that as you age, the *rate* of telomere shortening becomes a more critical predictor of mortality than the absolute length itself, implying that maintaining the rate of loss may be more important than the starting length.
Using the reliability theory of aging, we instead propose that TL is a biomarker of somatic redundancy, the body’s capacity to absorb damage, which fits the observed pattern well.
Why this rating
Based on a meta-analysis of 16 studies (10,157 individuals) and simulation models, but acknowledged as 'circumstantial' evidence for the causal agent of aging.
Source
Telomere length behaves as biomarker of somatic redundancy rather than biological age
Jelle J. Boonekamp et al. · Aging Cell · 2013
DOI 10.1111/acel.12050
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