Table 2.

Demographic characteristics and leukocyte telomere length (T/S ratio × 100) in the study population drawn from NHANES 2001–2002. All analyses were adjusted for NHANES sample weights.

Covariate	Participants (n = 1,330)% (SE)	LTL(T/S ratio × 100)geometric mean (95% CI)a
Whole population		106.6 (105.5, 107.6)
Serum cotinine (ng/mL)
< 0.015	19.0 (2.9)	104.1 (101.8, 106.4)**
0.015–9.90	50.9 (2.7)	106.0 (104.9, 107.2)
≥ 9.91	30.1 (1.6)	109.1 (108.0, 110.2)
Age (years)
20–39	42.3 (2.4)	117.8 (112.2, 123.4)**
40–59	38.2 (1.7)	107.2 (101.6, 112.7)
≥ 60	19.5 (1.5)	92.9 (89.3, 96.5)
Sex
Male	49.3 (1.6)	106.8 (105.4, 108.2)
Female	50.7 (1.6)	106.3 (105.4, 107.2)
Race/ethnicity
Non-Hispanic white	73.3 (2.9)	105.5 (104.2, 106.8)**
Non-Hispanic black	10.3 (2.1)	108.5 (107.2, 109.8)
Mexican American	7.0 (0.8)	111.3 (110.6, 112.0)
Other	9.4 (2.0)	109.3 (107.7, 111.0)
Education
< High school	19.8 (1.5)	105.4 (103.6, 107.2)*
High school graduate	24.3 (1.1)	106.8 (104.7, 108.8)
Some college	30.4 (2.1)	107.6 (106.2, 109.1)
≥ College graduate	25.5 (1.8)	106.0 (104.9, 107.1)
BMI (kg/m2)
< 25	34.8 (0.9)	108.3 (107.3, 109.2)**
25–29.9	35.6 (1.4)	105.7 (104.3, 107.1)
≥ 30	29.7 (1.6)	105.6 (104.1, 107.1)
Cancer diagnosisb
No	91.2 (1.1)	107.4 (106.4, 108.4)**
Yes	8.8 (1.1)	97.6 (95.0, 100.2)
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; CI, confidence interval; LTL, leukocyte telomere length; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; SE, standard error.aLTL is adjusted for continuous age, except for the LTL values in the age group categories. bTwo participants were missing data on cancer diagnosis (n = 1,328). Participants answering “Yes” to the question, “Have you ever been told by a doctor or other health care professional that you had cancer or a malignancy of any kind?” were recorded as having a cancer diagnosis. p-Values were calculated using analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests within each demographic category. *p < 0.05. **p < 0.01.