TABLE 1.
Baseline characteristics of MESA participants (n = 5181)1
| Characteristics and plasma markers | |
| Demographic and lifestyle characteristics | |
| Sex, % | |
| Female | 52.4 |
| Male | 47.6 |
| Age, y | 61.8 ± 10.3 |
| Race/ethnicity, % | |
| White | 42.8 |
| African American | 24.4 |
| Hispanic | 20.6 |
| Asian | 12.2 |
| Education, % | |
| <High school | 16.1 |
| High school | 17.6 |
| >High school | 66.3 |
| Physical activity,2MET- min/wk | |
| Inactive leisure | 1680 ± 1120 |
| Active leisure | 2500 ± 3050 |
| Cigarette smoking status, % | |
| Never | 50.7 |
| Former | 36.6 |
| Current | 12.7 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 27.9 ± 5.2 |
| Alcohol intake, g/d | 5.6 ± 12.3 |
| Dietary intakes | |
| Total energy,3kcal/d | 1680 ± 797 |
| Dietary nonheme iron, mg/d | 11.2 ± 3.5 |
| Dietary heme-iron, mg/d | 0.78 ± 0.64 |
| Dietary Zn, mg/d | 8.3 ± 4.4 |
| Dietary Mg, mg/d | 255 ± 119 |
| Dietary vitamin C, mg/d | 100 ± 60 |
| Dietary vitamin E, mg/d | 10.4 ± 6.7 |
| Dietary β-carotene, mg/d | 3.26 ± 2.41 |
| Dietary fiber intake, g/d | 16.8 ± 8.4 |
| Plasma markers of inflammation and subclinical atherosclerosis | |
| IL-6, ng/L | 1.15 (1.16) |
| CRP, mg/L | 1.79 (5.74) |
| tHcy, μmol/L | 8.60 (3.81) |
| Fibrinogen, g/L | 3.33 (7.13) |
1
Values are percent, mean SE, or median (SE).
2
Metabolic equivalents in minutes per week.
3
1 kcal/d = 4.18 kJ/d.