Table 1.
Comparison of baseline characteristics for participants and non-participants in the 10-year longitudinal study within the Västerbotten Intervention Programme surveys, 1990–1994.1
| Baseline characteristic | Participants (%) | Non-participants (%) | |
| Age (years) | 30 | 23.4% | 29.9%§ |
| 40 | 39.7% | 39.3% | |
| 50 | 36.9% | 30.8% | |
| Sex | Male | 46.6% | 50.4%§ |
| Female | 53.4% | 49.6% | |
| Education | Low | 22.8% | 21.8%† |
| Medium | 53.9% | 52.6% | |
| High | 23.4% | 25.6% | |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 24.8 (3.8) | 25.2 (4.1) | |
| Serum cholesterol, mean (SD) mmol/L | 5.49 (1.20) | 5.52 (1.23)* | |
| Blood pressure, mean (SD) mmHg | Systolic | 123 (15) | 124 (15) |
| Diastolic | 77 (10) | 77 (11) | |
| Glucose metabolism | Normal | 93.2% | 92.6%† |
| Glucose intolerance | 4.0% | 3.6% | |
| Diabetes | 2.8% | 3.7% | |
| Smoker | 24.8% | 30.4%§ | |
| Snuff use | 25.6% | 28.7%§ | |
| Physically inactive | 41.5% | 42.9%† | |
1This table includes only those eligible for the longitudinal study. *differed by p < 0.05 between participants and non-participants; †differed by <0.01 between participants and non-participants; §differed by <0.001 between participants and non-participants