Table 1.
Participant characteristics (n = 145)
| Caregivers (n = 97) | Controls (n = 48) | p | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female, % | 71 | 73 | 1.000 |
| Age, years | 72.4 ± 8.7 | 67.9 ± 7.0 | 0.001 |
| BMI | 25.4 ± 4.4 | 25.8 ± 4.9 | 0.620 |
| CVD, %1 | 11 | 4 | 0.221 |
| Hypertension, % | 32 | 21 | 0.176 |
| Hypercholesterolemia, % | 32 | 35 | 0.710 |
| Type II diabetes, % | 4 | 6 | 0.685 |
| Aspirin use, % | 28 | 19 | 0.308 |
| Statin use, % | 18 | 19 | 1.000 |
| ACE inhibitor use, % | 21 | 12 | 0.260 |
| Current smoker, % | 7 | 4 | 0.718 |
| <2 alcohol days per week, % | 53 | 46 | 0.483 |
| <2 exercise days per week, % | 49 | 29 | 0.022 |
| Role overload, score | 9.19 ± 3.18 | 6.23 ± 2.09 | <0.001 |
| Psychological distress, score2 | 0.46 ± 0.42 | 0.30 ± 0.24 | 0.014 |
| IL-6, pg/ml | 1.40 ± 1.51 | 1.04 ± 0.97 | 0.071 |
| CRP, mg/l | 3.54 ± 6.53 | 2.39 ± 3.00 | 0.657 |
| D-dimer, ng/ml | 710 ± 491 | 465 ± 199 | <0.001 |
| VWF antigen, IU/ml | 160 ± 79 | 189 ± 137 | 0.298 |
| Perceived sleep quality, score3 | 7.8 ± 4.1 | 6.1 ± 3.5 | 0.017 |
| Total sleep time, min | 415 ± 77 | 413 ± 82 | 0.895 |
| Percent sleep, % | 88.9 ± 10.0 | 91.7 ± 10.3 | 0.025 |
| WASO, min | 51 ± 44 | 35 ± 36 | 0.010 |
| Awakenings, n | 8.0 ± 5.2 | 7.6 ± 4.6 | 0.870 |
| Mean duration of awakenings min | 6.5 ± 4.1 | 4.9 ± 5.1 | <0.001 |
Values are given as means ± SD or percentages. Comparison between groups done by Student's t test or Fisher's exact test.
ACE = Angiotensin-converting enzyme; PAI-1 = type 1 plasminogen activator inhibitor; t-PA = tissue-type plasminogen activator.
1
Combination of previous MI/stroke.
2
Measured by the Global Severity Index.
3
Measured by the PSQI.