TABLE 3.

Associations between TL at different life stages, PUFA status, and mercury exposure from covariate-adjusted linear regression models¹

Outcome and exposure covariate	β	SE	P
TL in mothers (n = 216)
Prenatal n–3 PUFA	−1.70	0.93	0.07
Prenatal n–6 PUFA	−0.011	0.039	0.78
Prenatal mercury	0.001	0.002	0.58
Prenatal n–6:n–3 PUFA ratio	0.001	0.001	0.0482
Prenatal mercury	0.001	0.002	0.71
Log(TL in cord blood) (n = 183)
Prenatal n–3 PUFA	4.38	3.20	0.17
Prenatal n–6 PUFA	−0.031	0.14	0.82
Prenatal mercury	−0.001	0.007	0.88
Prenatal n–6:n–3 PUFA ratio	−0.002	0.002	0.39
Prenatal mercury	0.001	0.007	0.93
TL at 5 y of age (n = 202)
Prenatal n–3 PUFA	0.081	0.92	0.93
Prenatal n–6 PUFA	−0.020	0.040	0.62
Prenatal mercury	−0.002	0.002	0.23
Prenatal n–6:n–3 PUFA ratio	0.000	0.001	0.69
Prenatal mercury	−0.003	0.002	0.17
TL at 5 y of age (n = 202)
Postnatal EPA + DHA	−1.19	1.06	0.26
Postnatal AA	0.82	0.87	0.35
Postnatal mercury	0.001	0.001	0.26
Postnatal AA:DHA ratio	0.026	0.022	0.25
Postnatal mercury	0.001	0.001	0.27
Log(TL attrition rate) (n = 141)
Postnatal EPA + DHA	−2.49	4.11	0.55
Postnatal AA	−1.33	3.63	0.72
Postnatal mercury	0.006	0.004	0.16
Postnatal AA:DHA ratio	−0.002	0.088	0.98
Postnatal mercury	0.005	0.004	0.20

¹AA, arachidonic acid; TL, telomere length.

²Significant P value <0.05.