Table 1.
Characteristics of Study Participants
| Characteristics | FHS | SFS† | PIVUS Study |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 3,527 | 859 | 868 |
| Mean circulating VEGF level (ng/L), median (IQR) * | 280 (294.7) | 27.4 (28.2) | 187.5 (210.6) |
| Mean age (SD) at VEGF measurement, mean (SD) | 40.0 (8.7) | 29.83 (14.5) | 70.2 (0.2) |
| Women (%) | 1890 (53.2) | 428 (49.8) | 454 (52.3) |
| Cardiovascular risk factor at VEGF measurement | |||
| Systolic blood pressure, mean (SD) | 116.7 (14.0) | 120.3 (12.8) | 149.6 (22.7) |
| Hypertension (%) | 561 (15.9) | 23 (2.7) | 606 (69.8) |
| Diabetes mellitus (%) | 89 (2.5) | 0 | 68 (7.8) |
| Current smoker (%) | 544 (15.3) | 188 (21.9) | 93 (10.7) |
| Central obesity (%) | 1315 (37.2) | 37 (44.3) | 266 (30.6) |
| Metabolic syndrome (%) | 693 (19.6) | 19 (2.2) | 198 (22.8) |
IQR: Inter-Quartile Range; SD: Standard Deviation;
*
Serum levels for the FHS and the PIVUS study, and plasma levels for the SFS;
†
by design, SFS participants were free of chronic disorders (cardiovascular or cancer) and had no personal history of cardiovascular disease at the time of inclusion (VEGF levels and covariates for the present analysis were measured during the second examination cycle in 1998 – 2000); all individuals with CVD (cardiovascular disease), defined in the FHS as presence of stroke, congestive heart failure, coronary heart disease or intermittent claudication, were excluded before analyses in FHS and PIVUS