Table 1.
Characteristicsa of participants by quartile of leukocyte telomere lengthb, 1999–2002
| LTL | LTL | LTL | LTL | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <0.87 | 0.87–1.01 | 1.02–1.19 | ≥1.20 | p-trend | |
| Age, years | 55.4 (0.7) | 48.5 (1.1) | 42.4 (1.0) | 37.9 (1.0) | <0.01 |
| Non-Hispanic white, % | 77.9 (3.1) | 75.9 (2.5) | 72.7 (2.9) | 66.7 (2.9) | <0.01 |
| Non-Hispanic black, % | 7.7 (1.2) | 8.6 (1.6) | 8.7 (1.3) | 13.2 (2.3) | 0.01 |
| Mexican-American, % | 6.0 (1.3) | 7.1 (1.2) | 7.9 (1.2) | 6.5 (1.2) | 0.76 |
| Women, % | 45.3 (1.6) | 53.0 (2.1) | 51.2 (2.3) | 51.7 (2.1) | 0.04 |
| <High school education, % | 26.7 (1.4) | 21.4 (1.5) | 19.9 (1.8) | 18.0 (1.6) | <0.01 |
| High school education, % | 25.3 (1.9) | 28.9 (2.5) | 25.6 (2.3) | 27.6 (2.4) | 0.67 |
| >High school education, % | 47.9 (2.0) | 49.7 (2.6) | 54.4 (2.7) | 54.4 (2.7) | 0.03 |
| Household income < $20,000, % | 26.5 (1.7) | 21.2 (1.6) | 21.9 (2.3) | 26.8 (3.0) | 0.81 |
| Current smokers, % | 22.1 (1.6) | 26.1 (2.3) | 24.6 (2.3) | 26.6 (2.4) | 0.22 |
| Former smokers, % | 32.9 (1.7) | 28.6 (2.4) | 23.4 (1.8) | 21.1 (1.9) | <0.01 |
| Never smokers, % | 45.1 (2.0) | 45.4 (1.8) | 52.0 (2.4) | 52.3 (3.1) | <0.01 |
| Pack years smoked, mean years | 29.5 (1.6) | 25.2 (1.1) | 19.5 (1.1) | 14.5 (1.2) | <0.01 |
| Consume alcohol, % | 68.9 (1.6) | 73.7 (2.9) | 74.1 (3.1) | 76.0 (3.4) | 0.10 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 28.6 (0.3) | 28.4 (0.3) | 27.6 (0.3) | 27.4 (0.3) | <0.01 |
| C-reactive protein ≥1 mg/dL, % | 12.9 (1.3) | 10.1 (1.0) | 7.8 (1.0) | 8.7 (1.3) | 0.04 |
| Diabetes, % | 12.9 (0.8) | 11.0 (0.9) | 7.1 (0.8) | 6.6 (0.8) | <0.01 |
| A1c, mean % | 5.6 (0.03) | 5.5 (0.03) | 5.4 (0.03) | 5.3 (0.03) | <0.01 |
| A1c, mean mmol/mol | 34 (0.3) | 37 (0.3) | 36 (0.3) | 34 (0.3) | <0.01 |
LTL leukocyte telomere length
aMean (standard error) or percentage (standard error)
bTelomere length was measured relative to standard reference DNA and presented as a ratio (T/S ratio)