Table 1.

Characteristics of Participants at Baseline (n = 2,191), Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study, 1997–1998

Characteristic	No. or Mean (SD)	%
Sociodemographic factors
Age, years	73.5 (2.8)
Female gender	1,211	55.3
Black race	900	41.1
Memphis, Tennessee, study site	1,124	51.3
Education
Less than high school	532	24.3
High school graduation	734	33.6
Postsecondary education	920	42.1
Smoking status
Never smoker	1,015	46.3
Former smoker	955	43.6
Current smoker	221	10.1
Alcohol consumption, drinks/week
<1	1,534	70.3
1–7	481	22.1
>7	166	7.6
Physical activity, kcal/weeka
<500	1,148	52.4
500–1,500	596	27.2
≥1,500	447	20.4
Hypertensionb	1,002	46.1
Diabetes mellitus	292	13.3
Body mass indexc	27.4 (4.9)
Systolic blood pressure	136 (21)
Diastolic blood pressure	72 (12)
Lipoprotein level, mmol/L
Total cholesterol	5.31 (0.98)
High density lipoprotein cholesterol	1.42 (0.44)
Low density lipoprotein cholesterol	3.19 (0.88)
Triglyceridesd	1.31 (0.98–1.81)
10-year FRS, %e	16.6 (2.9)
Category of FRS
<5%	297	13.6
5–9.9%	523	23.9
10–19.9%	853	38.9
≥20%	518	23.6
Creatinine level, mmol/Ld	88.4 (79.6–97.2)
Medication use
Lipid-lowering drugs	229	10.5
Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors	273	12.5
Hormone replacement therapy	285	13.0
Aspirin	412	18.8

Abbreviations: FRS, Framingham Risk Score; SD, standard deviation.

^aPhysical activity was assessed by questionnaire. Participants were asked about all types of walking and exercise performed in the prior week (14).

^bDefined as self-reported hypertension and use of antihypertensive medication or measured blood pressure ≥140/90 mm Hg.

^cWeight (kg)/height (m)².

^dExpressed as median (25th–75th percentiles). A Mann-Whitney rank-sum test was performed.

^e10-year risk of coronary heart disease according to Adult Treatment Panel III FRS (18).