Telomere length is negatively associated with gestational age at birth, but not by one year of age.

Absolute telomere length vs gestational age at birth (left panel), term-adjusted age (middle panel) and one year of age (right panel). Black circles and gray triangles represent samples from preterm and term individuals, respectively. Horizontal black lines represent the median TL for each group and boxes represent the interquartile range. Significant differences in TL as determined by t test are indicated.