Table 1.

Baseline Characteristics by Reference Population–Based DHEAS Quartiles in 539 Women in WHAS I

Characteristic	1st Quartile (<22 μg/dL) N = 163	2nd Quartile (22–40 μg/dL) N = 147	3rd Quartile (40–68 μg/dL) N = 145	4th Quartile (>68 μg/dL) N = 84	p Value*
Age, y†	80.0 (7.6)	76.9 (7.5)	77.0 (8.1)	75.4 (7.6)	<.001
Black, %	19.0	30.6	29.7	40.5	<.01
Education, y	9.9	9.6	9.8	9.4	.73
Current smoking status, %	9.2	12.2	12.4	15.5	.53
Body mass index, kg/m2	27.7	28.7	29.0	29.8	.13
Oral estrogen use, %	12.9	6.8	4.1	4.8	.02
Oral corticosteroid use, %	11.7	2.0	2.1	1.2	<.001
Natural menopause, %	65.5	65.3	66.2	60.7	.85
Bilateral oophorectomy, %	20.0	18.6	19.0	19.5	.99
Chronic diseases, %
Osteoarthritis	46.6	56.5	47.6	50.0	.32
Coronary heart disease	38.0	35.4	29.0	21.4	.04
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease	31.3	32.0	24.8	25.0	.40
Peripheral arterial disease	22.1	24.5	17.2	14.3	.20
Diabetes mellitus	18.4	15.7	18.6	15.5	.85
Congestive heart failure	12.9	10.2	11.7	3.6	.14
Cancer	10.4	10.9	9.0	16.7	.34
Stroke	7.4	6.8	4.1	4.8	.61
Rheumatoid arthritis	6.8	0.7	2.8	1.2	.01
Hip fracture	6.1	6.8	9.0	2.4	.28
Activities of daily living, %‡					.95
0	35.0	36.1	35.9	40.5
1	28.8	29.3	29.7	25.0
2	12.9	15.0	13.1	17.9
≥3	23.3	19.7	21.4	16.7

Notes: Multiply by .02714 to convert from conventional (μg/dL) to SI units (μmol/L).

^*Based on analysis of variance test for continuous outcomes and chi-square test for categorical outcomes.

^†Expressed as mean (standard deviation).

^‡Number of activities of daily living tasks (bathing, getting in/out of bed, using toilet, dressing, eating) with any difficulty.

DHEAS = dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate; WHAS I = Women’s Health and Aging Study I.