Table 1. Baseline characteristics of included studies.
| Study | Year of Publication | Method | Subjects Analyzed | Male (%) | Female (%) | Average Age | Ethnicity | Follow Up |
| Ghali, et al[8] | 2003 | 1 | 2708 | 2115 (78) | 593 (22) | 58.8 ± 14.1 | 30% Blacks | |
| Deswal and Bozkurt[9] | 2006 | 1 | 719 | 378 (52) | 341 (48) | 68.5 | 85% White | |
| Adams, et al[10] | 1996 | 2 | 557 | 380 (68) | 177 (32) | 51 ± 14 | 28.8 mo | |
| Rywik, et al[11] | 2000 | 2 | 10 579 | 3901 (37) | 6678 (63) | 75 ± 10 | 5 mo | |
| Crabbe, et al[12] | 2003 | 2 | 100 | 72 (72) | 28 (28) | 53 ± 3 | 38 mo | |
| Klapholz, et al[13] | 2004 | 2 | 619 | 170 (27) | 449 (73) | 71.7 ± 14.1 | 30% Black | 30 mo |
| Gottdiener, et al[14] | 2000 | 2 | 5625 | 2368 (42) | 3257 (58) | 72.8 ± 5.2 | 66 mo | |
| He, et al[15] | 2001 | 2 | 13 643 | 5545 (40) | 8098 (60) | 50 ± 17 | 14% Blacks | 228 mo |
| Cowie, et al[16] | 1999 | 2 | 220 | 118 (54) | 102 (46) | 76 | 20 mo | |
| Kenchaiah, et al[17] | 2002 | 2 | 5881 | 2704 (46) | 3177 (54) | 56 ± 15 | MajorityWhite | 168 mo |
| Lloyd-Jones, et al[18] | 2002 | 2 | 8229 | 3757 (46) | 4472 (54) | 59 ± 25 | MajorityWhite | 1971–1996 |
| Levy, et al[19] | 1996 | 2 | 5143 | 2334 (45) | 2809 (55) | 59 ± 15 | MajorityWhite | Mean followup 14 yr |
| Hussey and Hardin[20] | 2005 | 3 | 206 | 128 (62) | 78 (38) | 70.4 ± 12.9 | 21% Blacks | Unclear |
| Samuel, et al[21] | 1999 | 3 | 695 | 336 (48) | 359 (52) | 70.2 ± 13.0 | 10 yr | |
| Mendes, et al[22] | 1997 | 3 | 1667 | 1081 (65) | 586 (35) | 61.5 ± 1.5 | 24 mo | |
| Agvall and Dahlstrom[23] | 2001 | 3 | 256 | 148 (58) | 108 (42) | 78 | Unclear | |
| Varela-Roman, et al[24] | 2005 | 3 | 1252 | 767 (61) | 485 (39) | 69.4 ± 11.7 | 144 mo | |
| Peyster, et al[25] | 2004 | 3 | 247 | 98 (40) | 149 (60) | 76.3 | Majoritynon-White | Unclear |
| Lee, et al[26] | 2004 | 3 | 1591 | 839 (53) | 752 (47) | 72 ± 13 | 12 mo | |
| Sheppard, et al[27] | 2005 | 3 | 32 639 | 16 017 (49) | 16 622 (51) | 75.5 ± 13.5 | 48 mo | |
| Martinez-Selles, et al[28] | 2003 | 3 | 1065 | 443 (41) | 622 (59) | 73 ± 14.4 | median19 mo | |
| Hellermann, et al[29] | 2003 | 3 | 395 | 159 (40) | 236 (60) | 70 ± 13 | 1979–1994 | |
| Vaccarino, et al[30] | 1999 | 3 | 2445 | 1019(42) | 1426 (58) | 78 ± 1.5 | 12 mo | |
| Mejhert, et al[31] | 1999 | 3 | 379 | 187(49) | 192 (51) | 79.5 ± 1.5 | 6 mo | |
| Lenzen, et al[32] | 2004 | 3 | 6806 | 4016 (59) | 2791 (41) | 68.5 ± 14.5 | 14 mo | |
| Gustafsson, et al[33] | 2004 | 3 | 5491 | 3285 (59) | 2206 (41) | 69.5 ± 17.5 | 60–96 mo | |
| Bener, et al[34] | 2005 | 3 | 3617 | 2411 (67) | 1206 (33) | 59 ± 16 | Qatari & Asian | 120 mo |
| Masoudi, et al[35] | 2003 | 4 | 19 710 | 8475 (43) | 11 235 (57) | 78.7 ± 7.5 | ||
| Dunlap, et al[36] | 1999 | 4 | 680 | 469 (70) | 211 (30) | 51 ± 0.5 | 44% Blacks | |
| Aronow, et al[17] | 1998 | 4 | 572 | 177 (31) | 395 (69) | 82 ± 8 | ||
| Ahmed, et al[38] | 2003 | 4 | 394 | 171 (43) | 223 (57) | 78 ± 7 | ||
| Oyati, et al[39] | 2004 | 4 | 95 | 60 (63) | 35 (37) | 54 ± 11.15 | Nigerians | |
| Mosterd, et al[40] | 1999 | 4 | 5540 | 2251 (40) | 3289 (60) | 68.9 ± 8.7 | ||
| Abhayaratna, et al[41] | 2006 | 4 | 1275 | 638 (50) | 637 (50) | 69.4 | ||
| O'Mahony et a[42] | 2003 | 4 | 351 | 126 (36) | 126 (64) | 77.9 |
Method: 1= baseline data from clinical trials, 2= prospective, 3 = retrospective, 4 = cross section