Leukocyte telomere length and depression, anxiety and stress and adjustment disorders in primary health care patients

Table 1 Characteristics of the study population at baseline (n = 501)

Variables	Patients (n = 181)	Control subjects (n = 320)	P-value
Age, years
Mean (SD)	41.9 (11.1)	44.6 (12.5)	0.02^a
Sex, n (%)
Male	22 (12)	197 (62)	<0.0001^b
Female	159 (88)	123 (38)	<0.0001^b
Telomere length
Mean (SD)	0.77 (0.12)	0.81 (0.14)	0.006^a
BMI, n (%)^c
Underweight	2 (1.1)
Normal weight	70 (39)	N/A	N/A
Overweight	56 (31)
Obese	44 (24)
Smoking status, n (%)^d
Yes	27 (15)	N/A	N/A
No	151 (83)	N/A	N/A
Alcohol status, n (%)^e
Standard size drinks per week
< 1	100 (55)
1–4	54 (30)	N/A	N/A
> =5	22 (12)
Education, n (%)^f
Low	15 (8)
Middle	72 (40)	N/A	N/A
High	92 (51)
Antidepressants, n (%)^g
Yes	63 (35)	N/A	N/A
No	102 (56)	N/A	N/A
Tranquilizers, n (%)^h
Yes	27 (15)	N/A	N/A
No	131 (72)	N/A	N/A
Baseline MADRS-S
Median score (IQR)	20 (14–25)	N/A	N/A
Baseline HAD-D
Median score (IQR)	8 (6–11)	N/A	N/A
Baseline HAD-A
Median score (IQR)	12 (9–15)	N/A	N/A
Baseline PHQ-9
Median score (IQR)	13 (9–17)	N/A	N/A

Abbreviations: SD Standard Deviation, BMI Body Mass Index, IQR Interquartile Range, N/A Not Available
Education: Low = 0–9 years; Middle = 10–12 years; High = More than 12 years
^a P-value is given for the comparison of patients and control subjects using independent sample t-test
^b P-value is based on Chi-square test
^c9 (5%) had missing on BMI
^d3 (2%) had missing on smoking status
^e5 (3%) had missing on alcohol status
^f2 (1%) had missing on education
^g16 (9%) had missing on antidepressants
^h23 (13%) had missing on tranquilizers

ISSN: 1471-244X