Skip to main content
. 2010 Jun 2;172(2):180–189. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwq093

Table 1.

Distribution of Traditional Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors at Follow-up Year 20, According to 3 Indices of Year 20 Body Mass Indexa and Its History, Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study, 1985–2006

Quintile 1 (n = 448)
Quintile 2 (n = 449)
Quintile 3 (n = 449)
Quintile 4 (n = 449)
Quintile 5 (n = 448)
P Value
Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) %
BMI at Year 0
<20.7
20.7–<22.5
22.5–<24.2
24.2–<26.9
≥26.9
Age, years 45.0 (3.6) 44.9 (3.4) 45.1 (3.5) 45.9 (3.5) 45.6 (3.6) <0.01
Female sex, % 71.2 58.1 45.9 43.7 59.6 0.02
White race/ethnicity, % 63.6 66.1 61.7 60.1 41.1 <0.01
Current smoker, % 16.5 14.9 19.2 19.4 18.3 0.35
Physical activity score, exercise unitsb 332 (260) 388 (298) 363 (275) 332 (254) 273 (257) <0.01
Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg 112.1 (13.9) 113.5 (14.4) 115.2 (13.3) 116.1 (12.7) 119.8 (15.9) <0.01
HDL cholesterol, mg/dL 60.5 (18.2) 57.9 (17.0) 53.3 (16.2) 51.2 (15.2) 50.4 (15.4) <0.01
LDL cholesterol, mg/dL 108.9 (32.6) 108.9 (29.7) 111.6 (33.0) 113.0 (30.0) 110.3 (30.7) 0.20
Triglycerides, mg/dL 95.6 (76.0) 96.1 (58.5) 112.9 (83.8) 121.9 (88.8) 123.6 (90.3) <0.01
Fasting glucose, mg/dL 92.7 (13.6) 92.8 (11.1) 96.1 (24.7) 98.4 (20.5) 107.1 (36.1) <0.01
Slope of BMI Change From Year 0 to Year 20, units/year
−1.12 to <0.08
0.08–<0.17
0.17–<0.25
0.25–<0.40
0.40–1.16
Age, years 45.5 (3.2) 46.0 (3.2) 45.5 (3.4) 45.2 (3.7) 44.3 (3.9) <0.01
Female sex, % 59.8 46.1 47.2 51.7 73.7 <0.01
White race/ethnicity, % 66.7 69.9 64.1 51.2 40.6 <0.01
Current smoker, % 24.3 19.4 16.9 15.1 12.5 <0.01
Physical activity score, exercise units 394 (276) 374 (264) 333 (277) 300 (250) 285 (278) <0.01
Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg 113.1 (15.1) 113.6 (13.8) 115.4 (14.2) 117.8 (13.6) 116.9 (14.2) <0.01
HDL cholesterol, mg/dL 63.5 (19.7) 56.9 (16.7) 51.8 (14.9) 50.9 (14.9) 50.2 (13.8) <0.01
LDL cholesterol, mg/dL 98.3 (28.8) 111.6 (31.0) 115.3 (31.0) 114.5 (31.5) 112.93 (30.8) <0.01
Triglycerides, mg/dL 87.5 (66.3) 100.1 (68.4) 114.5 (82.3) 123.9 (94.3) 124.0 (85.2) <0.01
Fasting glucose, mg/dL 96.0 (33.2) 95.6 (21.2) 96.2 (19.1) 99.1 (19.3) 100.1 (21.9) <0.01
Fluctuation in BMI From Year 0 to Year 20
0.11–<0.63
0.63–<0.91
0.91–<1.21
1.21–<1.79
1.79–9.07
Age, years 45.4 (3.3) 45.6 (3.5) 45.3 (3.5) 45.3 (3.5) 44.9 (3.8) 0.03
Female sex, % 44.9 48.6 53.9 58.1 73.0 <0.01
White race/ethnicity, % 70.3 63.0 62.4 50.6 46.4 <0.01
Current smoker, % 14.5 14.5 15.1 21.2 23.0 <0.01
Physical activity score, exercise units 410 (288) 345 (258) 339 (268) 311 (269) 281 (259) <0.01
Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg 112.6 (12.0) 114.6 (14.2) 115.2 (13.9) 118.1 (15.7) 116.3 (14.9) <0.01
HDL cholesterol, mg/dL 57.6 (18.4) 56.3 (17.5) 54.3 (16.3) 52.6 (15.2) 52.5 (16.1) <0.01
LDL cholesterol, mg/dL 105.0 (30.5) 113.3 (31.8) 111.0 (23.9) 114.1 (33.2) 109.3 (30.9) <0.01
Triglycerides, mg/dL 97.7 (74.6) 105.3 (66.1) 111.1 (77.8) 117.4 (97.6) 118.5 (84.8) <0.01
Fasting glucose, mg/dL 93.2 (11.5) 95.8 (18.0) 96.3 (19.5) 99.5 (28.7) 102.1 (32.8) <0.01

Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; HDL, high density lipoprotein; LDL, low density lipoprotein; SD, standard deviation.

a

Weight (kg)/height (m)2.

b

Physical activity score was derived from the CARDIA Physical Activity History questionnaire (17), a simplified version of the Minnesota Leisure Time Physical Activity Questionnaire. Physical activity is expressed in arbitrary exercise units. The theoretical range of the scores is 0 to 2,592; the actual maximum was 1,770.