Table 1.
Baseline levels of risk factors comprising the metabolic syndrome according to educational status in women without the metabolic syndrome at baseline
| < High school
(n = 156) |
High school graduate
(n = 411) |
Some college
(n = 784) |
College graduate
(n = 533) |
Post-college
(n = 607) |
Overall P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 46.5 ± 2.7 | 46.3 ± 2.7 | 46.1 ± 2.7 | 46.0 ± 2.6 | 46.6 ± 2.6 | < 0.01 |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 85.2 ± 14.0 | 83.4 ± 13.9 | 82.8 ± 14.5 | 80.0 ± 13.2 | 80.2 ± 11.3 | < 0.01 |
| HDL cholesterol (mg/dl) | 57.9 ± 14.5 | 57.9 ± 14.9 | 59.3 ± 13.8 | 60.3 ± 13.1 | 61.0 ± 13.2 | < 0.01 |
| SBP (mmHg) | 120.6 ± 16.6 | 116.3 ± 15.3 | 115.7 ± 16.0 | 112.2 ± 13.8 | 113.3 ± 15.2 | < 0.01 |
| DBP (mmHg) | 77.1 ± 10.1 | 74.1 ± 10.7 | 74.2 ± 10.3 | 73.2 ± 9.1 | 73.1 ± 9.7 | < 0.01 |
| Fasting glucose (mg/dl) | 98.0 ± 32.8 | 92.2 ± 15.7 | 91.9 ± 15.2 | 90.5 ± 11.5 | 91.0 ± 12.3 | < 0.01 |
| Triglycerides (mg/dl) | 100.5 ± 48.1 | 95.5 ± 45.2 | 91.9 ± 42.8 | 90.3 ± 38.5 | 87.7 ± 56.2 | < 0.05 |
| High triglycerides (%) | 9.9 | 8.9 | 7.0 | 6.4 | 5.5 | 0.16 |
| High BP (%) | 28.2 | 21.8 | 22.4 | 17.6 | 17.5 | < 0.01 |
| Impaired glucose (%) | 7.3 | 4.7 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 2.5 | < 0.01 |
| Low HDL (%) | 25.0 | 27.5 | 23.0 | 19.2 | 17.7 | < 0.01 |
| Abdominal obesity (%) | 31.6 | 29.5 | 30.9 | 22.4 | 20.9 | < 0.01 |
Means and SDs are provided for the first seven measures in the table, percentages for the remaining five measures.
High triglycerides: triglycerides ≥ 150 mg/dl.
High BP: BP ≥ 130 mmHg or DBP ≥ 85 mmHg or current blood pressure medication use.
Impaired glucose: fasting blood glucose ≥ 110 mg/dl or classification as diabetic.
Low HDL: HDL cholesterol level < 50 mg/dl.
Abdominal obesity: waist circumference ≥ 80 cm for Chinese and Japanese women, ≥ 88 cm for Caucasian, Hispanic and African-American women.
Varying amount of missing data on each variable; complete data on age.
BP, blood pressure; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; SBP, systolic blood pressure; SD, standard deviation.