Table 1.

Characterization of the studied groups and the biomarker assays results

Parameter	Control	Mild/moderate atheromatosis	Severe atheromatosis	p-value
Gender m/f	8/9	8/4	16/12
Age (years)	58.9 ± 7.7	61.0 ± 11.6	60.9 ± 9.6	0.515
Body mass index (Kg/m2)	24.9 ± 4.6	26.1 ± 4.9	24.3 ± 3.2	0.231
Smokers - n (%)	3 (17.6)	3 (25.0)	9 (32.1)	0.432
Arterial hypertension – n (%)	14 (82.4)	9 (75.0)	24 (85.7)	0.842
Sedentary lifestyle – n (%)	16 (94.1)	9 (75.0)	21 (75.0)	0.501
Family history – n (%)	7 (41.2)	5 (41.7)	12 (42.9)	0.347
Fibrinogen (mg/dL)	177.1 ± 36.7	210.9 ± 41.0a	243.4 ± 45.1a,b	< 0.0001a,b
Plasminogen - %	100.1 ± 13.9	96.8 ± 14.1	97.3 ± 12.9	0.622

Data are shown as means ± standard deviation or percentages. Signifcant differences between the groups are indicated by the letters: a. versus control and b. versus mild/moderate atheromatosis.