Table 1.
Characteristics of the study population, using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 2005 to 2018 (n=32 502), weighted
| Characteristic | Overall | Atherogenic coefficient quartiles | P value | |||
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | |||
| (<1.9310) | (1.9310 to <2.6695) | (2.6695 to <3.6430) | (≥3.6430) | |||
| Sex (%) | <0.001 | |||||
| Male | 48.78 (48.21, 49.35) | 32.75 (31.33, 34.21) | 42.40 (40.95, 43.87) | 54.04 (52.56, 55.52) | 66.36 (65.00, 67.70) | |
| Female | 51.22 (50.65, 51.79) | 67.25 (65.79, 68.67) | 57.60 (56.13, 59.05) | 45.96 (44.48, 47.44) | 33.64 (32.30, 35.00) | |
| Age (%) | <0.001 | |||||
| 20 to <40 | 35.93 (34.76, 37.12) | 40.78 (38.93, 42.66) | 36.40 (34.73, 38.10) | 33.15 (31.58, 34.76) | 33.30 (31.69, 34.95) | |
| 40 to <60 | 37.75 (36.83, 38.67) | 29.54 (27.96, 31.18) | 35.21 (33.59, 36.87) | 40.86 (39.37, 42.37) | 45.58 (43.89, 47.29) | |
| ≥60 | 26.32 (25.26, 27.40) | 29.67 (28.04, 31.36) | 28.39 (26.74, 30.09) | 25.99 (24.53, 27.50) | 21.12 (19.78, 22.52) | |
| Educational level (%) | <0.001 | |||||
| <High school | 15.44 (14.36, 16.58) | 12.40 (11.24, 13.65) | 14.04 (12.70, 15.49) | 16.18 (14.78, 17.67) | 19.24 (17.90, 20.65) | |
| Completed high school | 23.30 (22.35, 24.27) | 20.49 (19.12, 21.93) | 22.16 (20.82, 23.56) | 24.87 (23.59, 26.20) | 25.75 (24.17, 27.40) | |
| >High school | 61.26 (59.57, 62.92) | 67.11 (65.08, 69.08) | 63.80 (61.69, 65.86) | 58.95 (56.99, 60.89) | 55.02 (52.92, 57.09) | |
| Race/ethnicity (%) | <0.001 | |||||
| Non-Hispanic White | 68.41 (65.86, 70.86) | 69.02 (66.42, 71.51) | 68.41 (65.87, 70.84) | 68.23 (65.19, 71.72) | 67.98 (65.01, 70.81) | |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 10.50 (9.27, 11.88) | 13.76 (12.07, 15.64) | 11.32 (9.98, 12.81) | 9.65 (8.42, 11.03) | 7.20 (6.22, 8.32) | |
| Mexican American | 8.46 (7.22, 9.89) | 6.06 (5.10, 7.18) | 7.53 (6.34, 8.93) | 9.50 (8.04, 11.20) | 10.82 (9.06, 12.86) | |
| Other Hispanic | 5.44 (4.65, 6.35) | 4.27 (3.54, 5.13) | 5.22 (4.40, 6.18) | 5.83 (4.87, 6.97) | 6.47 (5.42, 7.70) | |
| Other races/multiple races | 7.18 (6.50, 7.93) | 6.89 (6.08, 7.81) | 7.52 (6.63, 8.51) | 6.79 (5.96, 7.73) | 7.54 (6.67, 8.50) | |
| Marital status (%) | <0.001 | |||||
| Married/living with a partner | 64.04 (62.84, 65.22) | 59.25 (57.29, 61.17) | 62.92 (61.31, 64.54) | 66.06 (64.48, 67.61) | 68.04 (66.58, 69.46) | |
| Widowed/divorced/separated/never married | 35.96 (34.78, 37.16) | 40.75 (38.83, 42.71) | 37.08 (35.49, 38.69) | 33.94 (32.39, 35.52) | 31.96 (30.54, 33.42) | |
| PIR (%) | <0.001 | |||||
| <1.00 | 13.58 (12.64, 14.57) | 12.69 (11.51, 13.97) | 13.36 (12.18, 14.64) | 12.77 (11.70, 13.92) | 15.51 (14.13, 17.00) | |
| 1.00 to <2.00 | 20.31 (19.33, 21.32) | 18.88 (17.52, 20.31) | 19.48 (18.36, 20.65) | 21.07 (19.63, 22.60) | 21.83 (20.18, 23.57) | |
| ≥2.00 | 66.12 (64.45, 67.74) | 68.44 (66.44, 70.37) | 67.16 (65.18, 69.08) | 66.15 (64.30, 67.96) | 62.66 (60.14, 65.12) | |
| Alcohol intake (g/day) | 9.38 (8.90, 9.87) | 12.33 (11.43, 13.24) | 8.91 (8.22, 9.61) | 7.84 (7.19, 8.49) | 8.43 (7.62, 9.25) | <0.001 |
| Smoking status (%) | <0.001 | |||||
| Non-smoker | 54.76 (53.63, 55.88) | 58.23 (56.66, 59.78) | 56.97 (55.26, 58.66) | 54.94 (53.42, 56.45) | 48.79 (47.25, 50.33) | |
| Former smoker | 25.13 (24.28, 26.00) | 24.55 (23.30, 25.85) | 24.60 (23.23, 26.02) | 26.12 (24.65, 27.66) | 25.26 (24.00, 26.56) | |
| Current smoker | 20.11 (19.24, 21.01) | 17.22 (16.03, 18.48) | 18.44 (17.19, 19.75) | 18.94 (17.85, 20.08) | 25.95 (24.45,27.51) | |
| Physical activity (%) | <0.001 | |||||
| Inactive | 45.81 (44.18, 47.45) | 39.32 (36.97, 41.72) | 44.08 (41.77, 46.42) | 47.93 (46.10, 49.77) | 52.15 (50.11, 54.17) | |
| Moderate | 28.01 (26.94, 29.11) | 27.48 (25.78, 29.25) | 28.01 (26.30, 29.78) | 29.11 (27.52, 30.76) | 27.43 (25.81, 29.11) | |
| Vigorous | 8.05 (7.55, 8.59) | 8.86 (7.84, 9.99) | 8.74 (7.74, 9.85) | 7.25 (6.40, 8.20) | 7.36 (6.37, 8.48) | |
| Both moderate and vigorous | 18.13 (116.98, 19.34) | 24.34 (22.46, 26.33) | 19.17 (17.54, 20.93) | 15.71 (4.27, 17.25) | 13.07 (11.83, 14.42) | |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 29.10 (28.94, 29.26) | 26.12 (25.94, 26.30) | 28.70 (28.49, 28.90) | 30.28 (30.04, 30.52) | 31.38 (31.17, 31.59) | <0.001 |
| HTN (%) | 38.20 (37.15, 39.25) | 32.90 (31.30, 34.54) | 36.35 (34.76, 37.96) | 40.33 (38.70, 41.98) | 43.34 (41.78, 44.93) | <0.001 |
| DM (%) | 14.38 (13.77, 15.02) | 11.47 (10.59, 12.40) | 13.43 (12.48, 14.45) | 14.90 (13.73, 16.15) | 17.76 (16.69, 18.88) | <0.001 |
| CVD (%) | 8.73 (8.25, 9.22) | 9.42 (8.55, 10.37) | 8.75 (7.97, 9.60) | 8.44 (7.65, 9.30) | 8.28 (7.45, 9.20) | 0.207 |
| Depression (%) | 7.69 (7.24, 8.17) | 6.48 (5.77, 7.26) | 7.16 (6.30, 8.12) | 8.27 (7.46, 9.16) | 8.89 (8.16, 9.68) | <0.001 |
| HbA1c (%) | 5.61 (5.60, 5.63) | 5.44 (5.42, 5.47) | 5.55 (5.53, 5.57) | 5.64 (5.61, 5.67) | 5.82 (5.79, 5.86) | <0.001 |
| TC (mmol/L) | 5.02 (5.00, 5.05) | 4.46 (4.43, 4.50) | 4.77 (4.74, 4.80) | 5.10 (5.07, 5.13) | 5.77 (5.73, 5.80) | <0.001 |
| HDL cholesterol (mmol/L) | 1.38 (1.37, 1.39) | 1.82 (1.80, 1.84) | 1.45 (1.44, 1.46) | 1.24 (1.24, 1.25) | 1.01 (1.00, 1.02) | <0.001 |
| Antidepressants (%) | 13.17 (12.52, 13.84) | 12.65 (11.66, 13.70) | 13.76 (12.67, 14.93) | 13.25 (12.25, 14.33) | 13.01 (11.83, 14.28) | 0.477 |
| Anxiolytics, sedatives and hypnotics (%) | 6.78 (6.33, 7.27) | 7.29 (6.54, 8.12) | 6.78 (6.07, 7.56) | 6.31 (5.56, 7.15) | 6.75 (5.93, 7.68) | 0.339 |
For continuous variables: survey-weighted mean (95% CI), the p-value was by survey-weighted linear regression (svyglm). For categorical variables: survey-weighted percentage (95% CI), the p-value was by survey-weighted χ2 test (svytable).
BMI, body mass index; CVD, cardiovascular disease; DM, diabetes mellitus; HbA1c, glycosylated hemoglobin; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; HTN, hypertension; PIR, poverty-income ratio (ratio of family income to poverty threshold); TC, total cholesterol.