A method for determining average telomere length or abundance, comprising: (a) contacting a first target nucleic acid with a first primer set, a second target nucleic acid with a second primer set, and a third target nucleic acid target with a third primer set; i) wherein the first primer set comprises a first forward primer and a first reverse primer, wherein the first forward primer comprises the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1; and wherein the first reverse primer comprises the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2; ii) wherein the second primer set comprises a second forward primer and a second reverse primer complementary to a sequence in β2-microglobulin, wherein the second target nucleic acid is β2-microglobulin; iii) wherein the third primer set comprises a third forward primer and a third reverse primer complementary to a sequence in RNase P, wherein the third target nucleic acid is RNaseP; and iv) wherein the first target nucleic acid comprises a telomere repeat sequence; (b) amplifying by polymerase chain reaction the first target nucleic acid with the first primer set to form a first amplicon, the second target nucleic acid with the second primer set to form a second amplicon, and the third target nucleic acid with the third primer set to form a third amplicon; (c) determining during the polymerase chain reaction the amount of the first, second, and third amplicons; i) wherein the first amplicon is detected using a first detection label; ii) wherein the second amplicon is detected using a second detection label; and iii) wherein the third amplicon is detected using a third detection label; and (d) determining the average length or abundance of telomeric DNA in the sample, wherein the average length or abundance of telomeric DNA in the sample is determined by: i) determining a concentration of the first, second and third amplicon by comparison to a control polymerase reaction; (ii) determining a ratio of the concentration of the first amplicon to an average concentration of the second and third amplicons; and (iii) converting the ratio from step (ii) to base pairs of telomere sequence per genome. (a) contacting a first target nucleic acid with a first primer set, a second target nucleic acid with a second primer set, and a third target nucleic acid target with a third primer set; i) wherein the first primer set comprises a first forward primer and a first reverse primer, wherein the first forward primer comprises the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1; and wherein the first reverse primer comprises the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2; ii) wherein the second primer set comprises a second forward primer and a second reverse primer complementary to a sequence in β2-microglobulin, wherein the second target nucleic acid is β2-microglobulin; iii) wherein the third primer set comprises a third forward primer and a third reverse primer complementary to a sequence in RNase P, wherein the third target nucleic acid is RNaseP; and iv) wherein the first target nucleic acid comprises a telomere repeat sequence; i) wherein the first primer set comprises a first forward primer and a first reverse primer, wherein the first forward primer comprises the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1; and wherein the first reverse primer comprises the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2; ii) wherein the second primer set comprises a second forward primer and a second reverse primer complementary to a sequence in β2-microglobulin, wherein the second target nucleic acid is β2-microglobulin; iii) wherein the third primer set comprises a third forward primer and a third reverse primer complementary to a sequence in RNase P, wherein the third target nucleic acid is RNaseP; and iv) wherein the first target nucleic acid comprises a telomere repeat sequence; (b) amplifying by polymerase chain reaction the first target nucleic acid with the first primer set to form a first amplicon, the second target nucleic acid with the second primer set to form a second amplicon, and the third target nucleic acid with the third primer set to form a third amplicon; (c) determining during the polymerase chain reaction the amount of the first, second, and third amplicons; i) wherein the first amplicon is detected using a first detection label; ii) wherein the second amplicon is detected using a second detection label; and iii) wherein the third amplicon is detected using a third detection label; and i) wherein the first amplicon is detected using a first detection label; ii) wherein the second amplicon is detected using a second detection label; and iii) wherein the third amplicon is detected using a third detection label; and (d) determining the average length or abundance of telomeric DNA in the sample, wherein the average length or abundance of telomeric DNA in the sample is determined by: i) determining a concentration of the first, second and third amplicon by comparison to a control polymerase reaction; (ii) determining a ratio of the concentration of the first amplicon to an average concentration of the second and third amplicons; and (iii) converting the ratio from step (ii) to base pairs of telomere sequence per genome.