Table 1.
Cohort studies’ sex- and age-standardized baseline characteristics according to geographic region.
| Geographic regions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Global | North America | Latin America | Western Europe | Eastern Europe and Russia | North Africa and Middle East | Sub-Saharan Africa | Asia | Australia | |
| Participants — no. | 1,518,028 | 65,182 | 191,244 | 907,760 | 51,133 | 185,608 | 10,390 | 59,802 | 46,909 |
| Study cohorts — no. | 112 | 11 | 10 | 58 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Survey year — range * | 1963–2020 | 1971–2011 | 1990–2013 | 1970–2015 | 1983–2014 | 1963–2020 | 2011–2017 | 1988–2015 | 1983–2007 |
| Age at time of baseline examination (IQR) — yr. ** | 54.4 (45.2, 63.0) | 54.0 (45.0, 63.0) | 54.0 (45.0, 63.0) | 54.6 (45.5, 63.0) | 54.1 (45.5, 63.0) | 54.0 (45.0, 62.6) | 54.0 (45.0, 63.0) | 54.0 (45.0, 63.0) | 54.6 (45.5, 63.0) |
| Male sex — %** | 45.9 | 45.9 | 45.9 | 45.9 | 45.9 | 45.9 | 45.9 | 45.9 | 45.9 |
| Body-mass index — kg/m2 (IQR) | 26.4 (23.7, 29.7) | 27.2 (24.1, 31.0) | 28.2 (25.4, 31.5) | 26.1 (23.6, 29.2) | 27.2 (24.3, 30.6) | 27.0 (24.0, 30.3) | 21.0 (19.0, 23.4) | 22.8 (20.5, 25.2) | 26.4 (23.7, 29.5) |
| Systolic blood pressure — mm Hg | 130.0 (118.0, 144.0) | 122.0 (111.0, 136.0) | 126.7 (118.0, 138.7) | 134.0 (122.0, 148.0) | 132.0 (120.0, 148.0) | 115.0 (105.0, 130.0) | 125.0 (113.0, 140.0) | 123.5 (112.0, 136.0) | 127.0 (116.5, 139.0) |
| Diastolic blood pressure — mm Hg | 80.0 (72.0, 87.5) | 74.0 (67.0, 81.0) | 82.7 (76.7, 90.0) | 81.0 (74.0, 89.0) | 82.0 (75.0, 91.0) | 75.0 (67.5, 80.0) | 75.0 (69.0, 83.0) | 76.0 (68.0, 84.0) | 72.5 (64.5, 80.5) |
| Non-HDL cholesterol — mg/dL | 156.9 (128.8, 187.9) | 150.0 (123.0, 179.4) | 156.2 (131.1, 185.2) | 162.8 (134.8, 193.8) | 162.4 (135.0, 191.8) | 140.1 (115.3, 167.8) | 116.0 (77.3, 154.7) | 140.0 (117.6, 167.0) | 151.2 (124.5, 181.0) |
| Current smoking — % | 21.6 | 22.5 | 30.8 | 20.9 | 29.2 | 14.2 | 18.6 | 23.5 | 14.3 |
| Diabetes — % | 8.3 | 13.0 | 15.3 | 4.8 | 9.0 | 18.3 | 2.0 | 5.1 | 4.8 |
| Antihypertensive medications — % | 19.4 | 27.5 | 19.3 | 17.9 | 28.8 | 24.7 | 18.5 | 11.6 | 13.7 |
| Lipid-lowering medications — % | 9.6 | 8.0 | 2.3 | 11.5 | 8.8 | 11.6 | - | 4.4 | 4.1 |
| History of CVD — % | 5.6 | 7.2 | 3.6 | 5.6 | 11.2 | 5.6 | 0 | 6.3 | 7.2 |
Percentages are used for binary variables. Percentages and quartiles are based on available cases per variable. Quartiles and percentages per geographic region were computed using direct standardization according to the age and sex distribution of the Global Cardiovascular Risk Consortium dataset. For the standardization the following age groups were considered: age ≤40 years; 40< to ≤45; 45< to ≤50; 55< to ≤60; 65< to ≤70; and >70 years.
Approximate number of observations according to categorized examination year: 1963–1989: 198,517 (13.1%), 1990–1999: 227,002 (15.0%), 2000–2009: 746,074 (49.1%), 2010–2020: 342,887 (22.8%).
Similar characteristics for age and sex across geographic regions result from the age and sex standardization.
Non-HDL cholesterol denotes non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
To convert the values for non-HDL cholesterol from milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) to millimoles per liter (mmol/L), multiply by 0.02586.