Table 2.
Weighted age-adjusted geometric mean of leukocyte telomere length by participant characteristics, NHANES, 1999–2002.
| Characteristic | Geometric Mean | 95% CI | P-valuea |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | <0.0001 | ||
| 20 to 39 | 1.13 | 1.09, 1.16 | |
| 30 to 59 | 1.01 | 0.98, 1.05 | |
| 60 or older | 0.88 | 0.86, 0.92 | |
| Sex | 0.04 | ||
| Men | 0.99 | 0.96, 1.02 | |
| Women | 1.00 | 0.97, 1.03 | |
| Race/ethnicity | 0.01 | ||
| Non-Hispanic blacks | 1.04 | 1.00, 1.07 | |
| Non-Hispanic whites | 0.99 | 0.96, 1.03 | |
| Mexican Americans | 0.96 | 0.92, 1.00 | |
| Education | 0.002 | ||
| Less than high school | 0.96 | 0.93, 0.99 | |
| High school/GED | 1.00 | 0.96, 1.04 | |
| Some college/associate degree | 1.00 | 0.97, 1.03 | |
| College degree or above | 1.00 | 0.98, 1.03 | |
| Urban/Rural Classification | 0.02 | ||
| Urban | 1.00 | 0.97, 1.03 | |
| Rural/Small Town | 0.94 | 0.89, 0.99 | |
| Poverty to Income Ratio | 0.09 | ||
| <1 | 0.99 | 0.96, 1.03 | |
| 1 to 3 | 0.98 | 0.95, 1.01 | |
| >3 | 1.00 | 0.98, 1.04 | |
| Nativity | 0.86 | ||
| United States born | 1.00 | 0.97, 1.03 | |
| Foreign born | 1.00 | 0.97, 1.03 | |
| Marital status | 0.08 | ||
| Married/living with partner | 0.99 | 0.96, 1.02 | |
| Never married, separated, divorced, or widowed | 1.00 | 0.98, 1.03 | |
| C-reactive Protein (mg/dL)b | 0.02 | ||
| <0.1 | 1.02 | 0.99, 1.05 | |
| 0.1 to 0.3 | 1.00 | 0.97, 1.03 | |
| >0.3 | 0.98 | 0.95, 1.01 | |
| Physical Activity | 0.003 | ||
| Below Recommendations (<500 MET-mins/week) | 0.98 | 0.95, 1.01 | |
| Meeting Recommendations (≥500 MET-mins/week) | 1.01 | 0.98, 1.04 | |
| Dietary Intake | 0.003 | ||
| Poor (<50 HEI-2005) | 0.98 | 0.95, 1.01 | |
| Intermediate (50–80 HEI-2005) | 1.01 | 0.98, 1.03 | |
| Ideal (≥81 HEI-2005) | 0.99 | 0.95, 1.04 | |
| Alcohol Consumption | 0.005 | ||
| Never drinker | 1.00 | 0.97, 1.03 | |
| Current drinker | 0.95 | 0.92, 0.99 | |
| Tobacco Use | 0.37 | ||
| Never smoker | 1.00 | 0.97, 1.03 | |
| Former smoker | 0.99 | 0.96, 1.02 | |
| Current smoker | 0.98 | 0.94, 1.02 | |
| Neighborhood Deprivation Tertiles | 0.03 | ||
| Low Deprivation | 1.02 | 0.98, 1.06 | |
| Medium Deprivation | 0.97 | 0.94, 1.00 | |
| High Deprivation | 0.99 | 0.96, 1.02 |
Abbreviations: CI, Confidence Interval; GED, General Education Development; HEI, Healthy Eating Index; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
a
P values from univariate linear regression. Boldface indicates statistical significance (p < 0.05).
b
Data were natural log-transformed.