Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of participants stratified by sex-specific HGS thresholds.
| Characteristics | Low HGS (n = 1,281) | Normal HGS (n = 5,481) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, y | 65.7 (9.8) | 57.2 (8.9) | <0.001 |
| Female, n (%) | 548 (42.8) | 3,112 (56.8) | <0.001 |
| Married (vs others) | 285 (22.2) | 794 (14.5) | <0.001 |
| Rural (vs others) | 422 (32.9) | 2060 (37.6) | 0.002 |
| Medical insurance, n (%) | 1,176 (91.8) | 5,151 (94.0) | 0.005 |
| Education | <0.001 | ||
| No formal education | 747 (58.3) | 2,324 (42.4) | |
| Primary school | 291 (22.7) | 1,217 (22.2) | |
| Middle or high school | 234 (18.3) | 1864 (34.0) | |
| College or above | 9 (0.7) | 76 (1.4) | |
| Smoking | 622 (48.6) | 2038 (37.2) | <0.001 |
| Drinking | 317 (24.7) | 1,495 (27.3) | 0.082 |
| BMI | 22.4 (3.9) | 24.7 (34.7) | <0.001 |
| Blood pressure, mmHg | |||
| Systolic | 133.7 (27.2) | 131.8 (32.8) | 0.031 |
| Diastolic | 74.4 (12.2) | 76.2 (12.0) | <0.001 |
| Comorbidities, n (%) | |||
| Hypertension | 400 (31.2) | 1,421 (25.9) | <0.001 |
| Diabetes | 98 (7.7) | 353 (6.4) | 0.134 |
| Cardiovascular disease | 206 (16.1) | 679 (12.4) | <0.001 |
| Stroke | 60 (4.7) | 113 (2.1) | <0.001 |
| Chronic lung disease | 174 (13.6) | 471 (8.6) | <0.001 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 94 (7.3) | 288 (5.3) | 0.005 |
| Liver disease | 53 (4.1) | 167 (3.0) | 0.058 |
| Cancers | 9 (0.7) | 49 (0.9) | 0.617 |
| Blood measurements | |||
| Hb, g/L | 14.4 (2.2) | 14.5 (2.1) | 0.095 |
| Hematocrit, % | 41.9 (6.1) | 41.8 (6.0) | 0.353 |
| MCV, fl | 92.3 (8.4) | 90.5 (8.3) | <0.001 |
| Total cholesterol, mg/dL | 188.4 (38.0) | 194.9 (38.8) | <0.001 |
| Triglycerides, mg/dL | 123.6 (81.9) | 137.8 (110.8) | <0.001 |
| HDL-C, mg/dL | 51.3 (15.5) | 50.6 (15.2) | 0.147 |
| LDL-C, mg/dL | 113.9 (34.2) | 118.0 (35.6) | <0.001 |
| eGFR, mL/min/1.73 m2 | 96.5 (24.7) | 99.0 (25.1) | 0.001 |
| HbA1c, mmol/mol | 5.3 (1.0) | 5.3 (0.8) | 0.004 |
| CRP, mg/L | 3.7 (9.2) | 2.5 (6.7) | <0.001 |
HGS, handgrip strength; BMI, body mass index; Hb, hemoglobin; MCV, mean corpuscular volume; HDL, high density lipoprotein; LDL, low density lipoprotein; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; HbA1c, glycosylated hemoglobin; CRP, C-reactive protein.