Association of chronic fatigue syndrome with premature telomere attrition

Table 5 Significant telomere attrition in CFS and ISF in comparison to NF in analysis restricted to participants under 45 years old

CFS-status (participants < 45 years old, n = 216)	T/S ratio			Mean TRF length (bp) difference with respect to NF^a	Equivalent additional years in aging with respect to NF
CFS-status (participants < 45 years old, n = 216)	β	SE	p-value	Mean TRF length (bp) difference with respect to NF^a	Equivalent additional years in aging with respect to NF
CFS (n = 24) vs. NF (71)	− 0.220	0.0927	0.018	932	14.8–30.1
CFS-X (n = 19) vs. NF	− 0.175	0.1014	0.085	767	12.2–24.7
ISF (n = 102) vs. NF	− 0.227	0.0607	< 0.0001	966	15.3–31.2

Data not shown for participants ≥ 45 years old (n = 423) since there was no significant difference in telomere length between illness groups
^aTRF length (bp) refers to terminal restriction fragment length in base pairs

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