Table 1.
Means and percent distributions of respondent characteristics, full sample and by cynical hostility tertiles, the Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) Stress Study, 2004–2006
| Full Sample (n=936) | Lowest tertile of cynical hostility (n=376) | Middle tertile of cynical hostility (n=242) | Highest tertile of cynical hostility (n=318) | P-value1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Range and Mean (SD) of cynical hostility scores | 0–8 3.3 (2.5) |
0–2 0.81 (0.8) |
3–4 3.5 (0.5) |
5–8 6.2 (1.1) |
|
| Demographic, socioeconomic and lifestyle variables | |||||
| Mean age in years | 61.4 | 61.8 | 60.6 | 61.7 | .28 |
| Sex (% distribution) | |||||
| Male | 48 | 44.4 | 48.8 | 51.9 | |
| Female | 52 | 55.6 | 51.2 | 48.1 | .14 |
| Race/Ethnicity (%distribution) | |||||
| % White | 19.2 | 33.5 | 14.5 | 6.6 | |
| % Black | 28.3 | 27.9 | 33.5 | 23.9 | |
| % Hispanic | 52.5 | 38.6 | 52.1 | 69.5 | <.0001 |
| Mean Body Mass Index (BMI) | 29.0 | 28.5 | 29.1 | 29.4 | .08 |
| Smoking | |||||
| % Never smoked | 53 | 55.9 | 47.1 | 52.2 | |
| % former smokers | 36 | 35.6 | 39.7 | 33.3 | |
| % Current smokers | 11 | 8.5 | 13.2 | 14.5 | .05 |
| Mean income (in ‘000 USD) | 41.1 | 52.1 | 38.8 | 30.0 | <.0001 |
| Mean years of education | 12.3 | 14.3 | 12.7 | 9.7 | <.0001 |
| Characteristics of cortisol measures | |||||
| Mean Wakeup time | 6:40 am | 6:42 am | 6:35 am | 6:38 am | <.0001 |
| Mean (SD) number of cortisol measures | 17.92 (0.74) | 17.96 (0.50) | 17.93 (.75) | 17.89 (0.93) | <.0001 |
1
Tests for difference across levels of cynical hostility are obtained using F-statistics (for continuous variables) and chi-square ratios for categorical variables.