Table 1. Baseline characteristics of study participants*.
| Characteristic | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| (N= 1551) | (N= 1769) | |
| Age, years | 59±10 | 59±10 |
| Smoking (%) | 14 | 16 |
| Serum cholesterol (mg/dl) | ||
| Total | 197±35 | 211±38 |
| High-density lipoprotein | 44±12 | 58±16 |
| Total/HDL Ratio | 4.79±1.37 | 3.91±1.32 |
| Body Mass Index (kg/m2) | 28.5±4.4 | 27.4±5.7 |
| Blood Pressure (mm Hg) | ||
| Systolic | 130±17 | 127±20 |
| Diastolic | 77±10 | 74±9 |
| Hypertension (%) | 35 | 28 |
| Use of antihypertensive agents (%) | 31 | 25 |
| Blood glucose (mg/dl) | 107 (27) | 100 (25) |
| Diabetes mellitus (%) | 14 | 9 |
| Serum creatinine (mg/dl) | 1.10±0.17 | 0.95±0.15 |
| eGFR (ml/min) | 87±24 | 86±26 |
| Prevalent CVD (%) | 15 | 7 |
| Median Biomarker Levels (25th percentile – 75th percentile) | ||
| ADMA (μmol/l) | 0.54 (0.47-0.62) | 0.51 (0.46-0.61) |
| L-Arginine (μmol/l) | 78.0 (66.8-91.0) | 75.7 (64.1-88.6) |
| Arg/ADMA | 146.0 (120.0-174.6) | 144.0 (120.0-172.1) |
| CRP (mg/dl) | 1.8 (0.9-3.8) | 2.3 (1.0-5.7) |
| BNP (pg/ml) | 6.7 (4.0-17.2) | 10.0 (4.0-20.3) |
| Renin (mU/l) | 14.0 (8.0-25.0) | 11.0 (6.0-19.0) |
| Homocysteine (μmol/l) | 9.8 (8.3-11.8) | 8.4 (7.0-10.3) |
| UACR (mg/g) | 4.9 (2.2-10.9) | 8.6 (3.6-17.5) |
*
Values are means±SD. ADMA, asymmetric dimethylarginine; Arg/ADMA, ratio of plasma L-arginine to ADMA; BNP, b-type natriuretic peptide; CRP, C-reactive protein; eGFR, glomerular filtration rate; UACR, urinary albumin-to-creatinine excretion ratio.