Table 1. Study population.
| Females | Males | |
| Number | 148 | 383 |
| Median age (total range)** | 73 (51–91) | 67 (55–93) |
| Follow-up time/time to death (median, IQ range) days | 878 (657–1005) | 825 (600–988) |
| With diabetes†, n(%) | 28 (19%) | 65 (17%) |
| Previous MI, n(%) | 37 (25%) | 133 (35%) |
| Secondary acute MI, n(%) | 16 (11%) | 54 (14%) |
| Heart failure, n(%) | 13 (9%) | 32 (8%) |
| Deaths (all-cause), n(%) | 7 (5%) | 27 (7%) |
| Left ventricular ejection fraction (median, IQ range) %*** | 63 (55–68) | 58 (50.5–63) |
| Waist (median, IQ range) cm*** | 89 (80–97) | 97 (90–103) |
| BMI (median, IQ range) kg/m2 | 27.0 (22.7–31.6) | 26.5 (24.5–29.4) |
| Biochemical and hematological parameters: | ||
| Hemoglobin (median, IQ range) g/L*** | 132.5 (122–140) | 143.5 (136–152) |
| Plasma creatinine (median, IQ range) µmol/L*** | 80 (70–95) | 100 (90–112) |
| Plasma urea (median, IQ range) mmol/L* | 6.1 (4.9–7.8) | 6.6 (5.5–8.5) |
| Plasma homocysteine (median, IQ range) µmol/L | 12.5 (10.2–15.6) | 12.6 (10.6–16.3) |
| Plasma NT-proBNP (median, IQ range) pmol/L | 87.0 (45.9–178) | 79.9 (34.7–168) |
| Plasma betaine (median, IQ range) µmol/L*** | 38.9 (30.8–46.0) | 44.5 (35.0–57.5) |
| Plasma DMG (median, IQ range) µmol/L* | 3.4 (2.2–4.8) | 3.8 (2.7–5.2) |
| Urine betaine/creatinine (median, IQ range) mmol/mole cr | 8.2 (4.4–17.7) | 9.2 (5.9–17.6) |
| Urine DMG/creatinine (median, IQ range) mmol/mole cr | 2.4 (1.4–4.3) | 2.9 (1.5–5.9) |
| Smoking: | ||
| Current smokers, n(%) | 12 (8%) | 20 (5%) |
| Past smokers, n(%)*** | 65 (44%) | 241 (63%) |
| Never smoked, n(%)*** | 71 (48%) | 123 (32%) |
| Medications: | ||
| Taking ACE inhibitors, n(%) | 76 (51%) | 212 (55%) |
| Taking β-blocker drugs, n(%) | 123 (83%) | 328 (86%) |
| Taking statins, n(%)* | 118 (80%) | 336 (88%) |
| Taking aspirin, n(%) | 138 (93%) | 354 (92%) |
| Taking Clopidogrel, n(%)* | 47 (32%) | 156 (41%) |
cr: creatinine. DMG: N,N-dimethylglycine. IQ: interquartile. NT-proBNP: N-terminal peptide of B-type natriuretic peptide. Significance of gender differences:
*
p<0.05;
**
p<0.01;
***
p<0.001.
†
Three patients (2 female, 1 male) with Type 1 diabetes, remainder all Type 2.