Table 2. Associations of telomere length and traditional prognostic factors.
| All women | Pre-menopausal | Post-menopausal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (95% CI) | Adjusted* mean (95% CI) | Adjusted* mean (95% CI) | Adjusted* mean (95% CI) | |||
| Age (quintiles, years) | ||||||
| 30–47 | 1.16 (0.96, 1.38) | 1.21 (0.95, 1.50) | 30–42 | 1.05 (0.78, 1.36) | 43–54 | 1.21 (0.94, 1.53) |
| 48–51 | 0.92 (0.75, 1.12) | 0.96 (0.75, 1.19) | 43–47 | 1.26 (0.94, 1.63) | 55–57 | 0.94 (0.70, 1.21) |
| 52–55 | 1.15 (0.91, 1.43) | 1.15 (0.91, 1.42) | 48–50 | 0.99 (0.74, 1.28) | 58–59 | 1.19 (0.90, 1.52) |
| 56–59 | 1.09 (0.89, 1.31) | 1.04 (0.81, 1.31) | 51 | 0.78 (0.50, 1.15) | 60–62 | 1.14 (0.83, 1.50) |
| 60–69 | 0.99 (0.78, 1.22) | 0.94 (0.70, 1.23) | 52–57 | 1.15 (0.81, 1.56) | 63–69 | 0.86 (0.62, 1.14) |
| p-trend | 0.475 | 0.365 | 0.633 | 0.180 | ||
| rs (p-value) | -0.035 (0.659) | -0.079 (0.321) | -0.037 (0.746) | -0.150 (0.182) | ||
| Menopausal status | ||||||
| Pre-menopausal | 1.04 (0.91, 1.18) | 0.97 (0.82, 1.14) | ||||
| Post-menopausal | 1.07 (0.94, 1.21) | 1.14 (0.97, 1.33) | ||||
| p-value | 0.777 | 0.227 | ||||
| rs (p-value) | 0.005 (0.947) | 0.073 (0.361) | ||||
| Stage | ||||||
| 0 | 0.93 (0.67, 1.24) | 0.93 (0.79, 1.24) | 0.80 (0.48, 1.21) | 1.13 (0.72, 1.64) | ||
| I | 1.09 (0.94, 1.26) | 1.09 (0.94, 1.25) | 1.04 (0.83, 1.27) | 1.15 (0.94, 1.38) | ||
| II | 1.06 (0.91, 1.22) | 1.06 (0.92, 1.22) | 1.16 (0.94, 1.40) | 0.96 (0.77, 1.17) | ||
| III | 1.04 (0.76, 1.37) | 1.03 (0.75, 1.37) | 0.92 (0.43, 1.63) | 1.07 (0.76, 1.44) | ||
| p-trend | 0.660 | 0.672 | 0.649 | 0.682 | ||
| rs (p-value) | -0.001 (0.994) | -0.002 (0.976) | 0.099 (0.383) | -0.102 (0.370) | ||
| Histological type | ||||||
| Ductal, in-situ | 0.93 (0.67, 1.24) | 0.93 (0.67, 1.28) | 0.80 (0.48, 1.21) | 1.13 (0.72, 1.64) | ||
| Ductal, invasive | 1.06 (0.95, 1.18) | 1.06 (0.95, 1.18) | 1.07 (0.92, 1.24) | 1.04 (0.89, 1.20) | ||
| Lobular, invasive | 1.03 (0.75, 1.37) | 1.06 (0.77, 1.38) | 1.48 (0.82, 2.37) | 0.95 (0.64, 1.33) | ||
| Others*, invasive | 1.24 (0.86, 1.70) | 1.25 (0.86, 1.70) | 1.00 (0.34, 2.10) | 1.32 (0.90, 1.83) | ||
| p-value | 0.673 | 0.676 | 0.374 | 0.592 | ||
| rs (p-value) | 0.064 (0.416) | 0.071 (0.370) | 0.173 (0.125) | 0.006 (0.958) | ||
| Tumor grade | ||||||
| 1 | 1.05 (0.84, 1.29) | 1.04 (0.83, 1.28) | 1.10 (0.78, 1.47) | 0.98 (0.71, 1.31) | ||
| 2 | 1.08 (0.94, 1.24) | 1.09 (0.95, 1.25) | 1.10 (0.89, 1.34) | 1.09 (0.89, 1.30) | ||
| 3 | 1.07 (0.88, 1.27) | 1.06 (0.88, 1.27) | 1.16 (0.87, 1.50) | 0.97 (0.74, 1.24) | ||
| p-trend | 0.909 | 0.886 | 0.792 | 0.947 | ||
| rs (p-value) | 0.043 (0.587) | 0.050 (0.528) | 0.176 (0.119) | -0.080 (0.480) | ||
| ER status | ||||||
| Positive | 1.11 (0.82, 1.43) | 1.05 (0.96, 1.16) | 1.07 (0.92, 1.22) | 1.04 (0.91, 1.19) | ||
| Negative | 1.05 (0.95, 1.15) | 1.07 (0.79, 1.40) | 0.94 (0.54, 1.46) | 1.17 (0.81, 1.60) | ||
| p-value | 0.732 | 0.905 | 0.611 | 0.540 | ||
| rs (p-value) | -0.043 (0.590) | -0.033 (0.681) | 0.047 (0.680) | -0.099 (0.382) | ||
| PR status | ||||||
| Positive | 1.05 (0.94, 1.15) | 1.05 (0.95, 1.16) | 1.07 (0.92, 1.22) | 1.04 (0.90, 1.19) | ||
| Negative | 1.12 (0.88, 1.38) | 1.08 (0.85, 1.35) | 0.92 (0.54, 1.46) | 1.13 (0.87, 1.43) | ||
| p-value | 0.602 | 0.811 | 0.611 | 0.558 | ||
| rs (p-value) | -0.044 (0.578) | -0.029 (0.715) | 0.047 (0.680) | -0.079 (0.488) | ||
| HER2 status | ||||||
| Positive | 1.08 (0.81, 1.38) | 1.07 (0.81, 1.38) | 1.12 (0.95, 1.29) | 1.03 (0.70, 1.17) | ||
| Negative | 1.06 (0.95, 1.18) | 1.06 (0.95, 1.18) | 1.12 (0.71, 1.65) | 1.01 (0.86, 1.43) | ||
| p-value | 0.938 | 0.947 | 0.979 | 0.914 | ||
| rs (p-value) | 0.031 (0.695) | 0.043 (0.593) | 0.188 (0.094) | -0.104 (0.359) | ||
Adjusted means and p-trend values from the general linear models (GLM); * Adjusted for: age and menopausal status, when applicable; rs: Spearman correlation coefficient; ER: Estrogen receptor; PR: Progesterone receptor; HER2: Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; *: includes mucinous, tubular, adenoid cystic and metaplastic carcinomas