Table 1.

Basic characteristics of 622 men according to quartiled Spm + Spd concentrations^a

Basic characteristics of study cohortb	Quartile of Spd + Spm concentration (range)b				P for effectc
	Q1 (≤0.082) (n = 155)	Q2 (≤0.102) (n = 156)	Q3 (≤0.121) (n = 156)	Q4 (>0.121) (n = 155)
Age (years)	49.5 ± 6.6	50.0 ± 6.3	51.7 ± 6.0	51.3 ± 6.1	0.004
Body mass index (kg/m2)	23.0 ± 2.4	23.3 ± 2.6	23.5 ± 2.6	23.7 ± 2.6	0.119
Fasting plasma glucose (mmol/l)	5.62 ± 1.13	5.54 ± 0.75	5.93 ± 1.21	5.97 ± 1.67	0.003
Fasting plasma insulin (μU/ml)	5.35 ± 2.86	5.89 ± 6.15	6.06 ± 3.28	6.45 ± 5.99	0.240
HOMA–IRd	1.34 ± 0.74	1.45 ± 1.36	1.62 ± 0.99	1.69 ± 1.58	0.042
Fructosamine (μmol/l)	251 ± 34	255 ± 26	257 ± 38	260 ± 47	0.145
Polyamine-to-hemoglobin ratio (μmol/g)
Spd + Spm	0.060 ± 0.023	0.092 ± 0.005	0.110 ± 0.006	0.158 ± 0.093	<0.001
Spm	0.034 ± 0.022	0.042 ± 0.018	0.053 ± 0.019	0.078 ± 0.060	<0.001
Smoking status (% of subjects)
Never	35.5	35.9	35.9	32.3	0.882
Past	19.4	21.8	24.4	25.2
Current	45.2	42.3	39.7	42.6
Drinking status (% of subjects)
None	27.1	27.6	29.5	34.2	0.094
Light	20.6	27.6	23.1	21.3
Moderate	20.6	26.9	16.7	19.4
Heavy	31.6	17.9	30.8	25.2
Leisure-time physical activity (% of subjects)
Not very active	79.2	76.5	76.8	78.6	0.575
Somewhat active	13.0	12.4	16.8	15.6
Regularly active	7.8	11.1	6.5	5.8
Present history of chronic disease (% of subjects)e
Yes	14.8	16.0	21.2	18.1	0.481

Spd, Spermidine; Spm, spermine

^aQuartiled Spm + Spd concentrations are represented by polyamine-to-hemoglobin ratio

^bValues in the upper part of the table only are given as means ± standard deviation

^cP value by one-factor analysis of variance for continuous variables, and chi-square test for categorical variables

^dHomeostasis model assessment–insulin resistance

^eAny disease under treatment, including hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, stroke, heart disease, or hyperuricemia