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. 2011 Oct 27;105(11):1772–1775. doi: 10.1038/bjc.2011.444

Table 2. Risk of renal cell carcinoma in relation to blood telomere lengtha.

Telomere length quartileb N cases N controls Unadjusted OR (95% CI) Adjusted OR (95% CI)c
Overall
 4th Quartile 259 222 Ref Ref
 3rd Quartile 177 224 0.68 (0.52, 0.88) 0.69 (0.51, 0.93)
 2nd Quartile 242 224 0.93 (0.72, 1.20) 0.90 (0.67, 1.20)
 1st Quartile 213 224 0.82 (0.63, 1.06) 0.79 (0.59, 1.07)
      Ptrend=0.29 Ptrend=0.25
         
Stratified analyses
 Sex
  Women
   4th Quartile 116 102 Ref Ref
   3rd Quartile 80 108 0.65 (0.44, 0.96) 0.68 (0.43, 1.09)
   2nd Quartile 104 82 1.12 (0.75, 1.65) 1.11 (0.69, 1.79)
   1st Quartile 69 89 0.68 (0.45, 1.03) 0.60 (0.36, 0.99)
      Ptrend=0.28 Ptrend=0.17
         
  Men        
   4th Quartile 143 120 Ref Ref
   3rd Quartile 97 116 0.70 (0.49, 1.01) 0.73 (0.49, 1.08)
   2nd Quartile 138 142 0.82 (0.58, 1.14) 0.82 (0.56, 1.19)
   1st Quartile 144 135 0.90 (0.64, 1.25) 0.90 (0.61, 1.32)
      Ptrend=0.59 Ptrend=0.66
         
 Race
  African American
   4th Quartile 80 107 Ref Ref
   3rd Quartile 44 86 0.68 (0.43, 1.09) 0.73 (0.43, 1.26)
   2nd Quartile 57 87 0.88 (0.56, 1.36) 0.73 (0.43, 1.23)
   1st Quartile 52 64 1.09 (0.68, 1.73) 0.84 (0.48, 1.46)
      Ptrend=0.85 Ptrend=0.42
         
  Caucasian
   4th Quartile 179 115 Ref Ref
   3rd Quartile 133 138 0.62 (0.44, 0.86) 0.69 (0.48, 0.99)
   2nd Quartile 185 137 0.87 (0.63, 1.20) 0.97 (0.68, 1.39)
   1st Quartile 161 160 0.65 (0.47, 0.89) 0.76 (0.53, 1.10)
      Ptrend=0.04 Ptrend=0.32
         
 Age
  Under 60 years of age
   4th Quartile 177 160 Ref Ref
   3rd Quartile 99 123 0.73 (0.52, 1.02) 0.81 (0.55, 1.20)
   2nd Quartile 103 105 0.89 (0.63, 1.25) 1.00 (0.67, 1.49)
   1st Quartile 80 67 1.08 (0.73, 1.59) 1.29 (0.83, 2.02)
      Ptrend>0.99 Ptrend=0.36
         
  60+ years of age
   4th Quartile 82 62 Ref Ref
   3rd Quartile 78 101 0.58 (0.38, 0.91) 0.60 (0.38, 0.96)
   2nd Quartile 139 119 0.88 (0.59, 1.33) 0.85 (0.55, 1.32)
   1st Quartile 133 157 0.64 (0.43, 0.96) 0.62 (0.40, 0.95)
      Ptrend=0.13 Ptrend=0.09
         
 Source of DNA specimen
  Whole bloodd
   4th Quartile 145 192 Ref Ref
   3rd Quartile 139 192 0.96 (0.71, 1.30) 0.78 (0.55, 1.10)
   2nd Quartile 180 192 1.24 (0.92, 1.67) 0.88 (0.63, 1.23)
   1st Quartile 163 192 1.12 (0.83, 1.52) 0.79 (0.56, 1.11)
      Ptrend=0.23 Ptrend=0.25
         
  Buffy coate        
   4th Quartile 72 32 Ref Ref
   3rd Quartile 55 31 0.79 (0.43, 1.45) 0.68 (0.35, 1.32)
   2nd Quartile 68 32 0.94 (0.52, 1.71) 0.80 (0.41, 1.57)
   1st Quartile 69 31 0.99 (0.55, 1.79) 1.11 (0.56, 2.21)
      Ptrend=0.90 Ptrend=0.70

Abbreviations: OR=odds ratio; CI=confidence interval; BMI=body mass index.

a

Telomere length measurements were expressed as the standardised T/S ratio.

b

Quartiles were determined based on the distribution of telomere length measurements among controls. Cut points were defined as follows: Q1, ⩽0.7288; Q2, 0.7289–0.8535; Q3, 0.8536–0.9795; and Q4, ⩾0.9796.

c

Adjusted for the following covariates: sex, age, race, smoking status, BMI, history of hypertension, level of education, study centre (Detroit or Chicago), and material type (whole blood or buffy coat). In all, 30 subjects with missing data for smoking status, BMI, or history of hypertension were excluded from this analysis.

d

Quartiles based on the distribution of telomere length measurements among controls with whole blood samples. Cut points were defined as follows: Q1, ⩽0.7197; Q2, 0.7198–0.8341; Q3, 0.8342–0.9633; and Q4, ⩾0.9634.

e

Quartiles based on the distribution of telomere length measurements among controls with buffy coat samples. Cut points were defined as follows: Q1, ⩽0.8323; Q2, 0.8324–0.9651; Q3, 0.9652–1.1048; and Q4, ⩾1.1049.