Table 1. Characteristics of subjects by ethnicity.
| European (n = 182) | South Asian (n = 188) | Significance | |
| Women (%) | 91 (49) | 93 (47) | |
| Season of blood collection (%) | p = 0.008 | ||
| Nov–Feb | 32 (17.6) | 42 (22.3) | |
| Mar–Jun | 96 (52·7) | 69 (36·7) | |
| Jul–Oct | 54 (29·7) | 77(41·0) | |
| Age (years) | 50.70±9.14 | 44.97±8.36 | p<0.001 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 27.78±5.08 | 27.86±4.96 | p = 0.904 |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 89.65±12.7 | 88.76±12.3 | p = 0.489 |
| Waist/hip ratio | 0.875±0.09 | 0.883±0.10 | p = 0.410 |
| Total abdominal adipose tissue (cm2) | 411.8±177 | 448.9±165 | p = 0.038 |
| Subcutaneous adipose tissue (cm2) | 266.7 (197, 386) | 309.4 (224, 391) | p = 0.030 |
| Visceral adipose tissue (cm2) | 102.1 (79, 145) | 118.7 (88, 162) | p = 0.015 |
| Total body fat (%) | 32.49±9.95 | 35.88±9.26 | p = 0.001 |
| Plasma 25(OH)D (nmol/L) | 67.42±26.0 | 42.26±16.6 | p<0.001 |
Values presented are means ± SD. Subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue were not normally distributed and were transformed using the natural log for statistical analyses; values presented are the median (25th percentile, 75th percentile). Significant differences between ethnic groups were assessed by ANOVA. Ethnic-specific differences in season of blood collection were assessed by Pearson's chi-squared test.