Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of 1850 male CHD patients to the assigned n-3 fatty acids.
| Variables | Placebo (N=472) |
ALA (N=467) |
EPA-DHA (N=453) |
EPA-DHA and ALA (N=458) |
P valuea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD), y | 68.2 ± 5.2 | 68.4 ± 5.5 | 68.6 ± 5.4 | 68.7 ± 5.4 | 0.56 |
| Time since MI, mean (SD), y | 4.6 ± 3.3 | 4.6 ± 3.3 | 4.7 ± 3.3 | 4.5 ± 2.9 | 0.73 |
| Diabetesb, No. (%) | 92 (19.5%) | 78 (16.7%) | 74 (16.3%) | 78 (17.0%) | 0.57 |
| Body mass indexc, mean (SD), kg/m2 | 27.7 ± 3.6 | 27.3 ± 3.1 | 27.5 ± 3.2 | 27.4 ± 3.2 | 0.46 |
| Higher education, No. (%) | 222 (47.3%) | 212 (45.6%) | 190 (42.2%) | 213 (46.6%) | 0.42 |
| Married, No. (%) | 407 (86.2%) | 406 (86.9%) | 388 (85.7%) | 393 (85.8%) | 0.94 |
| Current smoker, No. (%) | 77 (16.3%) | 80 (17.1%) | 76 (16.8%) | 64 (14.0%) | 0.56 |
| Alcohol used, No. (%) | 381 (80.7%) | 374 (80.3%) | 372 (82.1%) | 376 (82.3%) | 0.82 |
| Medication use, No. (%)e | |||||
| Blood pressure lowering drugs | 402 (85.2%) | 401 (85.9%) | 398 (87.9%) | 386 (84.3%) | 0.46 |
| Lipid modifying drugs | 404 (85.6%) | 408 (87.4%) | 385 (85.0%) | 398 (86.9%) | 0.70 |
| High fish intake (≥10 g/d), No. (%) | 292 (66.1%) | 299 (68.6%) | 261 (62.6%) | 295 (68.8%) | 0.19 |
| Total testosterone level (nmol/L) | 14.8 ± 5.5 | 14.8 ± 5.4 | 14.9 ± 6.1 | 14.6 ± 5.6 | 0.94 |
| Time of blood sampling (h:min) | 11:24 ± 2:04 | 11:21 ± 2:16 | 11:17 ± 2:04 | 11:17 ± 2:00 | 0.77 |
| Testosterone deficiency (<8 nmol/L), No. (%)f | 38 (8.1%) | 31 (6.6%) | 37 (8.2%) | 38 (8.3%) | 0.76 |
Abbreviations: ALA, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA); DHA, docosahexaenoic acid; EPA, eicosapentaenoic acid; MI myocardial infarction.
Numbers may not total to the column total because of missing values for some variables.
Data are reported as no. (%) or mean ± standard deviation (SD).
Chi-square tests and analysis of variance was used to determine statistical significance.
Diabetes was considered to be present if a patient reported having received the diagnosis from a physician, was taking antidiabetic drugs, or had an elevated plasma glucose level (≥7.8 mmol per liter [140.5 mg per deciliter] in the case of patients who had fasted more than 4 hours or ≥11.1 mmol per liter [200.0 mg per deciliter] in the case of nonfasting patients).
Body mass index was calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared.
Alcohol use was defined as ≥1 glass/week. Higher education was defined as higher vocational education, college or university.
Lipid modifying drugs ATC codes C10; Blood pressure lowering drugs ATC codes C02, C03, C07, C08 and C09.
Testosterone deficiency was defined as a serum total testosterone level <8.0 nmol/L.(Wang et al., 2009; Wu et al., 2010)