Table 4.
Percent difference (95% CI) in leukocyte telomere length (T/S ratio) by non–dioxin-like PCBs, non-ortho PCBs, and the toxic equivalent (TEQ).
| Metric | n | Model 1a percent difference (95% CI) | n | Model 2b percent difference (95% CI) | n | Model 3c percent difference (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non–dioxin-like PCBs | ||||||
| Per doubling of exposure | 1,273 | 4.09 (1.16, 7.11)** | 1,267 | 3.80 (0.80, 6.90)* | 1,094 | 0.42 (–2.39, 3.32) |
| Quartile 1 (≤ 74.6 ng/g) | Reference | Reference | Reference | |||
| Quartile 2 (74.7–135.9 ng/g) | 3.50 (–3.13, 10.58) | 3.04 (–3.19, 9.67) | 0.53 (–4.96, 6.33) | |||
| Quartile 3 (136.0–245.2 ng/g) | 7.68 (1.52, 14.22)* | 7.20 (1.49, 13.23)* | 1.21 (–3.75, 6.43) | |||
| Quartile 4 (> 245.2 ng/g) | 10.55 (2.07, 19.74)* | 9.40 (0.88, 18.64)* | 0.84 (–5.37, 7.45) | |||
| p trend | 0.0091** | 0.019* | 0.74 | |||
| Non-ortho PCBs | ||||||
| Per doubling of exposure | 1,135 | 4.26 (2.42, 6.14)** | 1,129 | 4.31 (2.76, 5.88)** | 1,094 | 3.74 (2.10, 5.40)** |
| Quartile 1 (≤ 26.8 pg/g) | Reference | Reference | Reference | |||
| Quartile 2 (26.9–44.7 pg/g) | 0.94 (–3.90, 6.17) | 0.85 (–3.96, 5.89) | 1.30 (–3.66, 6.53) | |||
| Quartile 3 (44.8–71.5 pg/g) | 6.45 (1.80, 11.30)** | 6.17 (2.15, 10.35)** | 5.21 (0.92, 9.68)* | |||
| Quartile 4 (> 71.5 pg/g) | 10.60 (3.29, 18.44)** | 10.63 (3.98, 17.71)** | 9.16 (2.96, 15.73)** | |||
| p trend | 0.0029** | 0.0011** | 0.0036** | |||
| TEQ | ||||||
| Per doubling of exposure | 1,003 | 5.59 (1.99, 9.31)** | 999 | 5.76 (2.27, 9.37)** | 976 | 5.29 (1.66, 9.05)** |
| Quartile 1 (≤ 12.7 pg/g) | Reference | Reference | Reference | |||
| Quartile 2 (12.8–17.3 pg/g) | 1.45 (–3.06, 6.17) | 2.05 (–2.71, 7.05) | 1.43 (–3.41, 6.52) | |||
| Quartile 3 (17.4–25.3 pg/g) | 3.71 (–3.63, 11.60) | 4.11 (–3.11, 11.88) | 3.25 (–4.04, 11.10) | |||
| Quartile 4 (> 25.3 pg/g) | 9.37 (1.55, 17.79)* | 9.23 (1.28, 17.80)* | 7.84 (–0.53, 16.92) | |||
| p trend | 0.048* | 0.051 | 0.11 | |||
| Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; PCB, polychlorinated biphenyl. All analyses were adjusted for NHANES sample weights.aModel 1 is adjusted for age, age2. bModel 2 is adjusted for age, age2, sex, race/ethnicity, BMI, log(cotinine), white blood cell count, percent lymphocytes, percent monocytes, percent neutrophils, percent eosinophils, percent basophils. cModel 3 is additionally adjusted for a second exposure metric. Non–dioxin-like PCBs are adjusted for non-ortho PCBs. Non-ortho PCBs and TEQ are adjusted for non–dioxin-like PCBs. *p < 0.05. **p < 0.01. | ||||||