Table 3.

Association of Leukocyte Telomere Length to Disease in Components of the Physiologic Index

Component of the Physiologic Index*	Mean (SD) Leukocyte Telomere Length (bp)	Pearson r†	p†	Linear β (SE)‡	p‡
Carotid artery thickness
0 (0.60–1.06 mm)	6,540 (602)
1 (1.06–1.53 mm)	6,252 (591)	−.214	.001	−100 (39)	.01
2 (1.53–3.94 mm)	6,168 (600)
White matter grade
0 (0–1 units)	6,422 (607)
1 (2 units)	6,386 (644)	−.180	<.01	−71 (41)	.09
2 (3–9 units)	6,121 (554)
Serum fasting glucose
0 (<100 mg/dL)	6,365 (618)
1 (100–126 mg/dL)	6,256 (632)	−.063	.33	−49 (39)	.21
2 (>126 mg/dL)	6,239 (560)
Serum Cystatin-C
0 (0.6–1.0 mg/L)	6,413 (651)
1 (1.0–1.1 mg/L)	6,344 (578)	−.084	.20	1 (41)	.98
2 (1.1–3.5 mg/L)	6,187 (606)
Forced vital capacity
0 (W: 2.6–3.8 L, M: 3.9–6.5 L)	6,369 (592)
1 (W: 2.2–2.6 L, M: 3.2–3.9L)	6,352 (635)	−.019	.77	11 (52)	.83
2 (W: 0.6–2.2 L, M: 0.3–3.2 L)	6,218 (612)

^*Notes: Zero represents a normal physiologic value. Two represents higher disease burden.

^†Correlation of leukocyte telomere length with disease in each component of the index, modeled as a continuous variable.

^‡The difference in base pairs in mean leukocyte telomere length given a standard deviation higher component of the physiologic index, adjusted for age, gender, and race. Units are carotid artery thickness, 0.49 mm; white matter grade, 1.4 units; serum fasting glucose, 28.9 mg/dL; serum cystatin-C, 0.30 mg/L; and forced vital capacity, 0.89 L.