Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the 25 871 VITAL participants, according to randomized treatment assignment
| Baseline characteristic | All participants | n−3 fatty acids | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active | Placebo | ||
| Total number | 25 871 | 12 933 | 12 938 |
| Female sex—number (%) | 13 085/25 871 (50.6) | 6547 (50.6) | 6538 (50.5) |
| Age, years, mean ± SD | 67.1 ± 7.1 | 67.2 ± 7.1 | 67.1 ± 7.1 |
| Race/ethnicity—number (%)a | |||
| Non-Hispanic White | 18 046/25 304 (71.3) | 9044 (71.5) | 9002 (71.2) |
| African American | 5106/25 304 (20.2) | 2549 (20.1) | 2557 (20.2) |
| Hispanic (not African American) | 1013/25 304 (4.0) | 491 (3.9) | 522 (4.1) |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 388/25 304 (1.5) | 200 (1.6) | 188 (1.5) |
| Native American | 228/25 304 (0.9) | 120 (0.9) | 108 (0.9) |
| Other or unknown | 523/25 304 (2.1) | 249 (2.0) | 274 (2.2) |
| Body mass index, kg/m2, mean ± SDb | 28.1 (5.7) | 28.1 ± 5.7 | 28.1 ± 5.8 |
| Current smoking—number (%) | 1836/25 485 (7.2) | 920 (7.2) | 916 (7.2) |
| Hypertension treated with medication—number (%) | 12 791/25 698 (49.8) | 6338 (49.3) | 6453 (50.2) |
| Cholesterol-lowering medication, current use—number (%) | 9524/25 428 (37.5) | 4788 (37.7) | 4736 (37.2) |
| Diabetes—number (%) | 3549/25 828 (13.7) | 1799 (13.9) | 1750 (13.5) |
| Current regular aspirin use—number (%)c | 11 570/25 497 (45.4) | 5771 (45.3) | 5799 (45.5) |
There were no significant differences in the baseline characteristics between the groups.
SD, standard deviation.
Race and ethnic group were reported by participants.
For body mass index, data were missing for 2.4% of participants.
At least monthly.
Adapted from Manson et al.16