Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of study population by baseline LDL cholesterol value
| Characteristic | Baseline LDL cholesterol value (mg/dL) | |||||
| 30–79 (n=16 162) |
80–99 (n=32 517) |
100–129 (n=69 399) |
130–159 (n=43 333) |
160–189 (n=12 663) |
190 or higher (n=3586) |
|
| Age (years), median (IQR) | 59 (54–67) | 59 (54–67) | 59 (54–66) | 59 (54–65) | 59 (54–65) | 60 (54–67) |
| Age (years), n (%) | ||||||
| 50–59 | 8167 (50.5) | 16 551 (50.9) | 35 706 (51.5) | 22 811 (52.6) | 6694 (52.9) | 1765 (49.2) |
| 60–69 | 4686 (29.0) | 9742 (30.0) | 21 632 (31.2) | 13 797 (31.8) | 4029 (31.8) | 1162 (32.4) |
| 70–79 | 2221 (13.7) | 4399 (13.5) | 8808 (12.7) | 5103 (11.8) | 1439 (11.4) | 514 (13.3) |
| 80 and older | 1088 (6.7) | 1825 (5.6) | 3253 (4.7) | 1622 (3.7) | 501 (4.0) | 145 (4.0) |
| Sex | ||||||
| Female | 9027 (55.9) | 18 965 (58.3) | 42 697 (61.5) | 28 034 (64.7) | 8654 (68.3) | 2562 (71.4) |
| Male | 7135 (44.1) | 13 552 (41.7) | 26 702 (38.5) | 15 299 (35.3) | 4009 (31.7) | 1024 (28.6) |
| Race | ||||||
| Black | 1700 (10.5) | 2350 (7.2) | 3855 (5.6) | 2076 (4.8) | 607 (4.8) | 208 (5.8) |
| White | 14 462 (89.5) | 30 167 (92.8) | 65 544 (94.4) | 41 257 (95.2) | 12 056 (95.2) | 3378 (94.2) |
| Former smoker, n (%) | 4172 (27.3) | 8270 (26.9) | 16 871 (25.7) | 10 354 (25.3) | 2933 (24.5) | 858 (25.5) |
| Current smoker, n (%) | 3287 (21.5) | 5430 (17.6) | 9822 (15.0) | 6274 (15.3) | 1998 (16.7) | 668 (19.8) |
| Body Mass Index, median (IQR) | 25.8 (25.2–33.2) | 26.3 (25.2–33.8) | 26.6 (25.2–34.0) | 26.9 (25.2–33.9) | 26.9 (25.2–33.6) | 26.7 (25.2–33.1) |
| History of obesity, n (%) | 6011 (37.2) | 12 438 (38.3) | 26 946 (38.8) | 16 949 (39.1) | 4899 (38.7) | 1326 (37.0) |
| History of obstructive sleep apnoea, n (%) | 932 (5.8) | 1831 (5.6) | 3619 (5.2) | 1931 (4.5) | 507 (4.0) | 136 (3.8) |
| History of hypertension, n (%) | 5540 (34.3) | 11 331 (34.8) | 23 634 (34.1) | 13 435 (31.0) | 3621 (28.6) | 1060 (29.6) |
| History of atrial fibrillation, n (%) | 687 (4.3) | 1181 (3.6) | 1930 (2.8) | 845 (2.0) | 214 (1.7) | 60 (1.7) |
| History of arrhythmia, n (%) | 1178 (7.3) | 2254 (6.9) | 4143 (6.0) | 2054 (4.7) | 528 (4.2) | 133 (3.7) |
| History of valvular heart disease, n (%) | 431 (2.7) | 834 (2.6) | 1505 (2.2) | 798 (1.8) | 246 (1.9) | 60 (1.7) |
| History of congestive heart failure, n (%) | 251 (1.6) | 375 (1.2) | 597 (0.9) | 245 (0.6) | 80 (0.6) | 15 (0.4) |
| History of deep vein thrombosis, n (%) | 184 (1.1) | 323 (1.0) | 667 (1.0) | 356 (0.8) | 93 (0.8) | 25 (0.7) |
| History of cancer, n (%) | 1554 (9.6) | 2916 (9.0) | 5597 (8.0) | 3348 (7.7) | 912 (7.2) | 281 (7.8) |
| History of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, n (%) | 1147 (7.1) | 1783 (5.5) | 3156 (4.5) | 1666 (3.8) | 474 (3.7) | 146 (4.1) |
| History of chronic kidney disease, n (%) | 329 (2.0) | 424 (1.3) | 695 (1.0) | 356 (0.8) | 126 (1.0) | 42 (1.2) |
| History of depression, n (%) | 1985 (12.3) | 3981 (12.2) | 8327 (12.0) | 5214 (12.0) | 1606 (12.7) | 440 (12.3) |
| Systolic BP (mm Hg), median (IQR) | 128 (118–140) | 127 (118–138) | 128 (118–139) | 128 (120–140) | 128 (120–140) | 130 (120–140) |
| Diastolic BP (mm Hg), median (IQR) | 78 (70–84) | 78 (70–84) | 80 (71–84) | 80 (72–84) | 80 (72–84) | 80 (72–86) |
| HDL cholesterol (mg/dL), median (IQR) | 57 (45–73) | 56 (44–70) | 55 (45–68) | 55 (45–66) | 54 (45–65) | 53 (45–64) |
| Total/HDL cholesterol, median (IQR) | 2.5 (2.2–3.0) | 3.0 (2.5–3.6) | 3.5 (3.0–4.2) | 4.0 (3.4–4.8) | 4.6 (4.0–5.5) | 5.5 (4.6–6.5) |
| Triglycerides (mg/dL), median (IQR) | 90 (63–137) | 91 (67–131) | 100 (74–140) | 111 (83–151) | 125 (94–167) | 149 (110–201) |
| Haemoglobin (g/dL), median (IQR) | 13.7 (12.6–14.7) | 13.9 (12.9–14.8) | 14.0 (13.1–14.9) | 14.1 (13.3–15.0) | 14.2 (13.4–15.0) | 14.1 (13.3–15.0) |
| Glucose (mg/dL), median (IQR) | 94 (87–104) | 94 (87–103) | 94 (88–102) | 94 (88–102) | 95 (89–103) | 96 (89–105) |
| ACE inhibitor, n (%) | 2060 (12.7) | 3992 (12.3) | 8024 (11.6) | 4454 (10.3) | 1205 (9.5) | 328 (9.1) |
| Angiotensin receptor blocker, n (%) | 1028 (6.4) | 2017 (6.2) | 3927 (5.7) | 2018 (4.7) | 558 (4.4) | 156 (4.4) |
| Beta blocker, n (%) | 2747 (17.0) | 4827 (14.8) | 8969 (12.9) | 4709 (10.9) | 1352 (10.7) | 430 (12.0) |
| Calcium blocker, n (%) | 1931 (11.9) | 3501 (10.8) | 6612 (9.5) | 3534 (8.2) | 956 (7.5) | 297 (8.3) |
| Diuretic, n (%) | 2662 (16.5) | 4763 (14.6) | 8814 (12.7) | 4717 (10.9) | 1257 (9.9) | 390 (10.9) |
| Antidepressant, n (%) | 3497 (21.6) | 6504 (20.0) | 13 784 (19.9) | 8624 (19.9) | 2628 (20.8) | 797 (22.2) |
| Opioids, n (%) | 3319 (20.5) | 5400 (16.6) | 9688 (14.0) | 5711 (13.2) | 1599 (12.6) | 523 (14.2) |
| Antiplatelet agent, n (%) | 2209 (13.7) | 4319 (13.3) | 9006 (13.0) | 5057 (11.7) | 1267 (10.0) | 402 (11.2) |
| Aspirin, n (%) | 3082 (19.1) | 6087 (18.7) | 12 511 (18.0) | 7117 (16.4) | 1922 (15.2) | 586 (16.3) |
| Direct oral anticoagulant, n (%) | 423 (2.6) | 684 (2.1) | 1086 (1.6) | 479 (1.1) | 133 (1.1) | 33 (0.9) |
| ASCVD 10-year risk, median (IQR) | 5.8 (2.3–12.6) | 5.8 (2.5–12.7) | 5.9 (2.8–12.3) | 6.3 (3.1–12.2) | 6.8 (3.6–13.0) | 8.7 (4.6–15.7) |
| ASCVD 10-year risk, n (%) | ||||||
| Low | 6204 (58.8) | 12 166 (58.3) | 25 457 (58.6) | 15 048 (57.3) | 4144 (54.1) | 900 (43.0) |
| Intermediate | 2887 (27.4) | 5804 (27.8) | 12 514 (28.8) | 8161 (31.1) | 2596 (33.9) | 839 (40.0) |
| High | 1459 (13.8) | 2888 (13.8) | 5472 (12.6) | 3045 (11.6) | 913 (11.9) | 356 (17.0) |
| Started statin use >1 year after baseline measurement, n (%) | 484 (3.0) | 921 (2.8) | 2948 (4.2) | 3448 (8.0) | 1600 (12.6) | 644 (18.0) |
ASCVD, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease; BP, blood pressure; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein.