If chronic psychological stress accelerates telomere shortening in bone marrow stem cells, which consequence within the skeletal system becomes most likely?

💡 Explanation

Chronic stress leads to increased cortisol, accelerating telomere shortening in stem cells, which reduces their replicative capacity. Because bone marrow stem cells differentiate into osteoblasts responsible for bone regeneration, telomere shortening impairs this process, therefore bone density declines rather than increases. The other options involve mechanisms not directly linked to stem cell aging under stress.

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