Table 1.
Baseline clinical characteristics
| Group 1 (n = 181) | Group 2 (n = 123) | Group 3 (n = 170) | p Value | |
| Age (years) | 60 (10.2) | 59.6 (9.8) | 58.4 (10.2) | 0.3 |
| Male sex | 142 (78.5%) | 103 (83.7%) | 143 (84.1%) | 0.3 |
| Hypertension | 83 (45.9%) | 53 (43.1%) | 68 (40%) | 0.5 |
| Current smoking | 117 (64.6%) | 81 (65.9%) | 116 (68.2%) | 0.8 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 41 (22.7%) | 22 (17.9%) | 30 (17.6%) | 0.4 |
| Hypercholesterolaemia | 99 (54.7%) | 68 (55.3%) | 91 (53.5%) | 0.9 |
| Past myocardial infarction* | 14 (7.7%) | 11 (8.9%) | 16 (9.4%) | 0.8 |
| Past coronary angioplasty* | 7 (3.9%) | 5 (4.1%) | 8 (4.7%) | 0.9 |
| Past bypass surgery* | 5 (2.8%) | 4 (3.3%) | 3 (1.8%) | 0.7 |
| Admission qualifying event | ||||
| Stable angina | 33 (18.2%) | 32 (26%) | 42 (24.7%) | 0.2 |
| NST ACS | 81 (44.8%) | 48 (39%) | 62 (36.5%) | 0.3 |
| STE MI | 67 (37%) | 43 (35%) | 66 (38.8%) | 0.8 |
| CRP (mg/dl) | 0.7 (0.6) | 0.7 (0.7) | 0.7 (0.5) | 0.8 |
Values are mean (SD) or n (%).
*History of occurrence six months or more before study.
Group 1, less than one alcoholic drink a week or none; group 2, one to six alcoholic drinks a week; group 3, one to two alcoholic drinks a day; NST ACS, non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome; STE MI, ST elevation myocardial infarction.