Table 6.

Association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) and telomere length (DNAmTL) by sex, considering the whole pattern and the score of the 4 MedDiet items (fruit, fish, “sofrito” and whole grains).

	Total (n = 414)	p	Men (n = 186)	p	Women (n = 228)	p
	β (SE)		β (SE)		β (SE)
Adherence to MedDiet (17-I) 1
Model 1 2	0.006 (0.004)	0.095	−0.003 (0.006)	0.588	0.014 (0.005)	0.002
Model 2 3	0.006 (0.004)	0.113	−0.003 (0.006)	0.648	0.014 (0.005)	0.003
Model 3 4	0.005 (0.004)	0.147	−0.006 (0.006)	0.332	0.015 (0.005)	0.003
High adherence to MedDiet (2 categories) 5
Model 1 2	0.042 (0.020)	0.041	0.001 (0.033)	0.994	0.077 (0.025)	0.003
Model 2 3	0.040 (0.020)	0.048	0.003 (0.034)	0.922	0.075 (0.026)	0.004
Model 3 4	0.036 (0.021)	0.080	−0.016 (0.034)	0.637	0.078 (0.026)	0.004
Score of 4 MedDiet items 6
Model 1 2	−0.237 (0.055)	<0.001	−0.204 (0.103)	0.048	−0.295 (0.065)	<0.001
Model 2 3	−0.233 (0.055)	<0.001	−0.207 (0.104)	0.047	−0.290 (0.066)	<0.001
Model 3 4	−0.217 (0.055)	<0.001	−0.133 (0.105)	0.210	−0.289 (0.067)	<0.001

Values are regression coefficients (expressed as kb per unit of adherence variable) and SEs. ¹ Quantitative 17-item (17-I) questionnaire for adherence to Mediterranean diet (MedDiet). ² Model adjusted for sex and age. ³ Model adjusted for sex, age, diabetes, and body mass index (BMI). ⁴ Model adjusted for sex, age, diabetes, BMI, metformin, insulin, lipid-lowering drugs, hypertension medication, systolic blood pressure (SBP), education, smoking, and physical activity. ⁵ High adherence to MedDiet ≥ 9 points in the 17-I score compared with low adherence. ⁶ Score 4: The 4 MedDiet items (fruit, fish, “sofrito” and whole grains) most significantly associated with TL in women (see Supplemental Material). Estimators comparing category 1 (zero adherence) with category 5 (0 to 4 points) are shown.