Table 1. Baseline characteristics of study population by baseline telomere length (N=954)*.
| Characteristic | Quartile 1 | Quartile 2 | Quartile 3 | Quartile 4 | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4294– 5062 base pairs | 5065– 5388 base pairs | 5391–5778 base pairs | 5779 –7470 base pairs | ||
| N=239 | N=238 | N=238 | N=239 | ||
| Age (years) | 70.0 ± 10.1 | 66.6 ± 9.9 | 65.7 ±11.1 | 64.6 ±12.0 | <0.001 |
| Female (%) | 17 | 21 | 18 | 18 | 0.8 |
| Black | 11 | 13 | 19 | 23 | <0.001 |
| Hypertension (%) | 69 | 69 | 73 | 72 | 0.7 |
| Diabetes (%) | 27 | 30 | 24 | 25 | 0.4 |
| Heart failure (%) | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 0.9 |
| Myocardial infarction (%) | 58 | 53 | 50 | 54 | 0.3 |
| Stroke (%) | 21 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 0.002 |
| Tobacco use (%) | 21 | 18 | 21 | 20 | 0.9 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 132 ± 19 | 135. ± 24 | 134 ± 22 | 132 ± 19 | 0.2 |
|
| |||||
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 74 ± 10 | 75 ± 12 | 75 ± 12 | 74 ± 11 | 0.5 |
| Aspirin use (%) | 68 | 68 | 76 | 80 | 0.006 |
| B-blocker use (%) | 53 | 59 | 61 | 59 | 0.3 |
| ACE inhibitor/ARB use (%) | 47 | 52 | 53 | 56 | 0.3 |
| C-reactive protein†(g/dL) | 2.36 (4.19) | 2.20 (4.32) | 1.99(3.77) | 2.42(4.20) | 0.7281 |
| HDL cholesterol (mg/dL) | 46 ± 15 | 45. ± 15 | 45 ± 13 | 46 ± 14 | 0.5 |
| LDL cholesterol (mg/dL) | 106 ± 36 | 104 ± 33 | 102 ± 33 | 105 ± 34 | 0.7 |
*
reported as mean ± SD, unless otherwise specified
†
median (IQR)