Table 1.

Age-, Sex-, and Race-Center-adjusted Baseline Characteristics of Participants According to Use of Smokeless Tobacco (Chewing Tobacco or Snuff), Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, 1987–1989

	Use of Smokeless Tobacco			P Valuea
	Never User (n = 13,307)	Past User (n = 735)	Current User (n = 456)
Age, yearsb	53.9	55.1	55.1	<0.0001
Male sex, %b	39.9	81.2	73.9	<0.0001
Black race/ethnicity, %b	25.4	36.5	39.3	<0.0001
Less than high school education, %	22.4	37.7	46.4	<0.0001
Total annual household income ≤$15,999, %	24.5	34.6	38.5	<0.0001
Current cigarette smoker, %	28.5	34.2	23.1	<0.0001
Past cigarette smoker, %	28.6	43.9	36.2	<0.0001
Cigarette-years of smoking (ever smokers only)	517	548	540	0.18
Usual ethanol intake, g/week	41.7	42.3	40.9	0.97
Leisure-time sports indexc score ≥3, %	26.9	28.8	26.5	0.52
Current pipe smoker, %	1.4	3.1	3.4	<0.0001
Current cigar smoker, %	1.5	3.8	4.0	<0.0001
Secondhand smoke exposure, hours/week	6.8	7.4	7.8	0.32
Use of antihypertensive medication, %	29.9	33.3	37.4	<0.001
Diabetes mellitus, %	11.6	14.3	19.2	<0.0001
Waist circumference, cm	97.0	98.7	101.0	<0.0001
Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg	121.8	121.2	122.5	0.43
Total cholesterol level, IU/L	5.53	5.48	5.52	0.43
High density lipoprotein cholesterol level, IU/L	1.36	1.33	1.33	0.11
Triglyceride level, IU/L	1.42	1.46	1.47	0.33

^aP values were calculated by means of a general linear model.

^bCrude.

^cThe sports index was derived from questionnaire items on numbers of hours per week spent in up to 4 sports and the number of months per year in which the participant engaged in each sport (19). By assuming a sport intensity level (light, moderate, or heavy), a sports score ranging from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) was calculated.