Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics of Study Participants
| Characteristic | Men (n=1575) | Women (n=1842) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common Inflammatory Conditions | ||||
| Present n = 486 | Absent n =1089 | Present n = 568 | Absent n = 1274 | |
| Age, years | 57.1 ± 9.6 | 52.9 ± 9.6 | 56.6 ± 9.8 | 53.3 ± 9.6 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 28.2 ± 4.4 | 28.1 ± 4.1 | 27.3 ± 5.6 | 26.4 ± 5.4 |
| Cigarette smoking, % | 29.0* | 15.5 | 26.9* | 15.5 |
| Diabetes mellitus, % | 12.3 | 8.2 | 7.7 | 5.3 |
| Systolic blood pressure, mmHg | 131±18 | 128±17 | 126±21 | 122±19 |
| Diastolic blood pressure, mmHg | 77 ± 10 | 77 ± 9 | 73 ± 11 | 73 ± 10 |
| Hypertension drug therapy, % | 21.2 | 16.1 | 18.9 | 14.1 |
| Total cholesterol, mg/dL | 202.6±37.2 | 201.0±33.9 | 209.7±38.0 | 206.1±37.6 |
| Total/HDL cholesterol ratio | 5.1 ± 1.6 | 4.9 ± 1.5 | 4.1 ± 1.4 | 3.9 ±1.3 |
| Cholesterol drug therapy, % | 5.8 | 6.2 | 8.6 | 3.7 |
| Family history of premature cardiovascular disease†, % | 16.6 | 14.9 | 17.6 | 15.4 |
| Estrogen replacement therapy, % | NA | NA | 16.4 | 17.3 |
*
Chi-squared test p-value < 0.001 comparing presence versus absence of inflammatory conditions across CRP categories.
†
Total number of participants with available information = 1717 [men with (259) and without (582) and women with (278) and without (661) inflammatory conditions]
NA denotes not applicable
Values are mean ± 1 standard deviation.