Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the included samples
| Characteristics | Statisticsa (N = 54,180) |
|---|---|
| Age (years) | 56.0 ± 7.7 (40, 70) |
| Follow-up years from baseline to aPA assessment | 5.7 ± 1.1 (2.8, 8.6) |
| Follow-up years from aPA assessment to the last HES follow-up | 6.8 ± 0.9 (2.2, 8.3) |
| Telomere length (T/S ratio), adjusted for the influence of technical parameters | 0.8 ± 0.1 (0.2, 3.6) |
| Sex (= female) | 30,894 (57%) |
| Ethnicity | |
| Black | 420 (0.8%) |
| Other | 678 (1.3%) |
| South Asian | 474 (0.9%) |
| White | 52,608 (97.1%) |
| Education | |
| None | 4162 (8%) |
| CSEs or equivalentb | 2012 (4%) |
| O levels/GCSEs or equivalentc | 11,031 (20%) |
| A/AS levels/NVQ/HND/HNCd | 10,075 (19%) |
| Other professional qualifications | 2675 (5%) |
| College or university degree | 24,225 (45%) |
| Townsend deprivation index | − 1.8 ± 2.8 (− 6.3, 10.6) |
| Body mass index (BMI) | 26.7 ± 4.5 (14.1, 65.2) |
| Smoking status | |
| Never | 31,690 (58%) |
| Previous | 18,940 (35%) |
| Current | 3550 (7%) |
| Alcohol frequency | |
| Never | 2950 (5%) |
| Special occasions only | 5036 (9%) |
| One to three times a month | 5996 (11%) |
| Once or twice a week | 13,597 (25%) |
| Three or four times a week | 14,180 (26%) |
| Daily or almost daily | 12,421 (23%) |
aStatistics are mean ± standard deviation (minimum, maximum) for continuous variables and number of a particular level (% of N) for categorical variables
bCSE, certificate of secondary education
cGCSE, general certificate of secondary education
dNVQ, national vocational qualification; HND, higher national diploma; HNC, higher national certificate