Table 2.
Baseline Characteristics of Female Controls, According to Sex Hormone–Binding Globulin (SHBG) Level.*
| Characteristic | SHBG Quartile | P Value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (lowest) | 2 | 3 | 4 (highest) | ||
| SHBG (nmol/liter) | |||||
| Median | 17.1 | 29.3 | 39.0 | 55.8 | |
| Range | 5.8–24.7 | 24.8–34.6 | 34.7–44.3 | 44.4–122.4 | |
| Median age (yr) | 60.4 | 60.0 | 59.5 | 61.7 | 0.12 |
| Median time since menopause (yr) | 10.1 | 9.3 | 10.1 | 13.3 | 0.24 |
| Age at menarche, <12 yr (%) | 25.3 | 12.5 | 23.6 | 24.7 | 0.93 |
| Median body-mass index† | 28.3 | 26.2 | 24.2 | 23.7 | <0.001 |
| Median alcohol use (g/day) | 0 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.91 |
| Current smoking (%) | 12.1 | 6.8 | 20.2 | 14.6 | 0.20 |
| Physical activity ≥once/wk (%) | 34.1 | 43.2 | 33.7 | 44.9 | 0.31 |
| Past postmenopausal hormone use (%) | 27.5 | 23.9 | 31.5 | 28.1 | 0.66 |
| Pregnancies, ≥5 (%) | 30.8 | 33.0 | 37.1 | 36.0 | 0.49 |
| Natural cause of menopause (%) | 70.3 | 69.3 | 61.8 | 76.4 | 0.63 |
| History of hypertension (%) | 47.2 | 28.4 | 20.2 | 25.8 | 0.001 |
| Family history of diabetes (%) | 27.5 | 23.9 | 19.1 | 25.8 | 0.63 |
| Median fasting LDL cholesterol (mg/dl) | 143 | 140 | 129 | 128 | <0.001 |
| Median fasting HDL cholesterol (mg/dl) | 47 | 49 | 53 | 57 | <0.001 |
| Median fasting triglycerides (mg/dl) | 150 | 118 | 82 | 88 | <0.001 |
| Median C-reactive protein (mg/liter) | 3.1 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.0 | <0.001 |
| Median glycated hemoglobin (%) | 5.13 | 5.06 | 5.02 | 5.09 | 0.12 |
*
HDL denotes high-density lipoprotein, and LDL low-density lipoprotein. To convert the values for cholesterol to millimoles per liter, multiply by 0.02586. To convert the values for triglycerides to millimoles per liter, multiply by 0.01129.
†
The body-mass index is the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters.