Table 1.
Child Leukocyte Telomere Length at 2–3 Years (N = 61) and Change from 0 to 2–3 Years (n = 30) in Relation to Sociodemographics and Perinatal Risk Factors
| Variable | Variable mean ± SD or N/T (%) | Telomere length mean ± SD (T/S ratio) | p | Variable mean ± SD or (%) | Telomere length change median ± SD (yearly) (T/S ratio) | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telomere length | 1.58 ± 0.20 | |||||
| Telomere length change | −0.08 ± 0.09 | |||||
| Child and family sociodemographics | ||||||
| Child sex | ||||||
| Female | 31/61 (51.7) | 1.61 ± 0.18 | 14/30 (46.7) | −0.03 ± 0.10 | ||
| Male | 30/61 (49.2) | 1.55 ± 0.21 | 0.20 | 16/30 (53.3) | −0.09 ± 0.09 | 0.21 |
| Maternal education | ||||||
| Less than high school | 43/59 (72.9) | 1.57 ± 0.21 | 18/30 (60.0) | −0.06 ± 0.09 | ||
| High school graduate or more | 16/59 (27.1) | 1.60 ± 0.18 | 0.62 | 12/30 (40.0) | −0.15 ± 0.09 | 0.06 |
| Maternal ethnicity | ||||||
| Mexican | 32/61 (52.5) | 1.57 ± 0.18 | 17/30 (56.7) | −0.08 ± 0.11 | ||
| Central American | 29/61 (47.5) | 1.59 ± 0.22 | 0.73 | 13/30 (43.3) | −0.10 ± 0.08 | 0.95 |
| Maternal age | 28.0 ± 5.3 | |||||
| <35 years | 51/61 (85.0) | 1.58 ± 0.20 | 26/30 (86.7) | −0.07 ± 0.08 | ||
| ≥35 years | 10/61 (16.4) | 1.58 ± 0.17 | 0.98 | 4/30 (13.3) | −0.14 ± 0.16 | 0.83 |
| Marital status | ||||||
| Single or divorced/separated/widowed | 9/61 (14.8) | 1.57 ± 0.17 | 2/30 (6.7) | −0.02 ± 0.15 | ||
| Single, living with partner or married | 52/61 (85.2) | 1.58 ± 0.20 | 0.82 | 28/30 (93.3) | −0.08 ± 0.09 | 0.45 |
| Household income | ||||||
| <$25,000/year | 55/61 (90.0) | 1.58 ± 0.20 | 0.73 | 27/30 (90.0) | −0.07 ± −0.09 | 0.18 |
| ≥$25,000/year | 6/61 (9.8) | 1.55 ± 0.22 | 3/30 (10.0) | −0.14 ± 0.07 |
SD, standard deviation.