Demographic characteristics of the study groups in the relative telomere length analysis.

<p>Mean age in years, BMI, total-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides with standard deviation are shown. For other variables, number of subjects (percentage) is shown. <i>AscAA</i>, ascending aortic aneurysm, <i>BMI,</i> body mass index, <i>CHD,</i> coronary heart disease, <i>NS</i>, not statistically significant.</p

Relative leukocyte telomere lengths in AscAA patients and healthy controls. Risks for aneurysms are estimated based on controls.

<p><i>LTL,</i> leukocyte telomere length, <i>AscAA,</i> ascending aortic aneurysm, <i>SD,</i> standard deviation, <i>OR,</i> odds of ratio, <i>CI,</i> confidence interval,</p>#<p>adjusted <i>by age, gender, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, hypertension and CHD.</i></p>*<p> <i>independent samples t-test.</i></p