Table 2.
Clinical and Laboratory Baseline Characteristics of the Patients
| Characteristics* | Intervention Group (n = 169) | Control Group (n = 166) |
|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 55.7 ± 5.7 | 55.7 ± 5.6 |
| Males (%) | 41.4 | 42.2 |
| Non-smoking (%) | 78.1 | 78.3 |
| Education level (%): | ||
| University | 7.1 | 3.0 |
| Secondary school | 14.2 | 17.5 |
| Primary school | 78.7 | 79.5 |
| Leisure physical activity (metabolic equivalent of the activity—hr/week) | 18.9 ± 13.3 | 18.1 ± 16.0 |
| Alcohol (g/day) | 15.9 ± 23.6 | 16.5 ± 23.2 |
| Height (m) | 1.65 ± 9.9 | 1.65 ± 9.6 |
| Weight (kg) | 81.7 ± 14.9 | 81.3 ± 13.5 |
| Waist (cm) | 99.6 ± 11.6 | 99.8 ± 10.6 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 29.7 ± 4.1 | 29.8 ± 4.6 |
| Systolic pressure (mmHg) | 142.6 ± 14.1 | 141.5 ± 15.2 |
| Diastolic pressure (mmHg) | 88.2 ± 8.8 | 87.8 ± 9.5 |
| Fasting glucose (mmol/L) | 5.8 ± 0.8 | 5.8 ± 0.7 |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/L) | 5.8 ± 1.1 | 6.0 ± 1.1 |
| HDL-cholesterol (mmol/L) | 1.4 ± 0.3 | 1.4 ± 0.3 |
| Triglycerides (mmol/L)† | 1.9 (0.9) | 1.9 (0.9) |
| Fasting insulin (pmol/L)† | 20.4 (24.0) | 21.3 (31.2) |
| Homeostasis-Model-Assessment score for Insulin Resistance (mmol/L×μU/mL)† | 0.81 (1.11) | 0.84 (1.33) |
| Hs-CRP (mg/L)† | 3.50 (4.60) | 3.10 (3.60) |
| Uric acid (μmol/L) | 216.7 ± 56.3 | 223.6 ± 59.5 |
| Metabolic syndrome (%)‡ | 70.4 | 72.3 |
| Hs-CRP ≥ 3 mg/L (%) | 56.2 | 50.6 |
| No components of the metabolic syndrome‡ | ||
| 2 | 29.6 | 27.7 |
| 3 | 56.2 | 60.2 |
| ≥ 4 | 14.2 | 12.1 |
| Taking antihypertensive drugs (%) | 36.1 | 33.7 |
| Taking statin/fibrates (%) | 6.5 | 6.0 |
All data are complete.
BMI=body mass index; hs-CRP=high-sensitivity C-reactive protein
*If not otherwise specified, data are reported as means (± standard deviation)
†Median ± inter-quartile range for not normally distributed values
‡The metabolic syndrome was defined in the presence of ≥3 of the following five criteria: fasting glucose ≥6.1 mmol/L; blood pressure ≥130/85 mmHg; triglycerides ≥1.69 mmol/L; HDL cholesterol <1.29 mmol/L (females) or <1.04 mmol/L (males) and waist circumference >88 cm (females) or >102 cm (males)8.