Table 1.
Subject demographics and clinical characteristics (n = 56)1.
| Normal cortisol (n = 26) | High cortisol (n = 30) |
Statistic (F or χ 2) |
P value2 (P ≤ 0.05)* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sociodemographics | ||||
| Age, years, mean (SD) | 67 (12) | 65 (11) | 0.62 | 0.43 |
| Gender, % male (n) | 92.3 (24) | 80 (24) | 1.72 | 0.19 |
| Marital status, % married (n) | 88.5 (23) | 73.3 (22) | 1.62 | 0.20 |
| Ethnicity, % Caucasian (n) | 84.6 (22) | 93.3 (28) | 1.02 | 0.31 |
| Employment, % employed (n) | 42.3 (11) | 30 (9) | 0.03 | 0.86 |
| Total education, years, mean (SD) | 16.5 (3) | 17 (3.5) | 0.59 | 0.45 |
| Time since acute coronary event (wks) | 21.3 (40.9) | 28.4 (77.9) | 0.18 | 0.68 |
| Vascular risk factors, % (n) | ||||
| Hypertension | 53.8 (14) | 63.3 (19) | 0.52 | 0.47 |
| Hyperlipidemia | 100 (26) | 100 (30) | — | — |
| Diabetes | 7.7 (2) | 16.7 (5) | 1.03 | 0.31 |
| BMI, kg/m2, mean (SD) | 27.1 (5.0) | 27.4 (3.5) | 0.10 | 0.75 |
| Waist, cm, mean (SD) | 96.2 (10.1) | 98.8 (8.8) | 1.13 | 0.29 |
| Cardiac history, % (n) | ||||
| PCI | 57.7 (15) | 43.3 (13) | 1.15 | 0.28 |
| CABG | 23.1 (6) | 50 (15) | 4.31 | 0.04* |
| MI | 57.7 (15) | 40 (12) | 1.75 | 0.19 |
| Cardiopulmonary fitness parameters | ||||
| Maximum heart rate, bpm, mean (SD) | 118.0 (18.1) | 121.2 (21.7) | 0.36 | 0.55 |
| Maximum systolic blood pressure, mm Hg, mean (SD) |
175.7 (23.5) | 176.6 (27.0) | 0.02 | 0.90 |
| Maximum diastolic blood pressure, mm Hg, mean (SD) |
76.2 (9.0) | 79.9 (11.1) | 1.86 | 0.18 |
| Maximal oxygen uptake, mL/kg/min, mean (SD) | 19.7 (4.5) | 19.6 (4.6) | 0.001 | 0.98 |
| Concomitant medications, % (n) | ||||
| Beta-blocker | 80.8 (21) | 70 (21) | 0.86 | 0.35 |
| Calcium channel blocker | 26.9 (7) | 10 (3) | 2.72 | 0.10 |
| Diuretics | 23.1 (6) | 20 (6) | 0.08 | 0.78 |
| Antihypertensives | 50 (13) | 63.3 (19) | 1.01 | 0.32 |
| Statins | 100 (26) | 100 (30) | — | — |
| Antidiabetics | 3.8 (1) | 16.7 (5) | 2.39 | 0.12 |
| Antidepressants | 3.8 (1) | 10 (3) | 0.80 | 0.37 |
| Anxiolytics | 11.5 (3) | 3.3 (1) | 1.41 | 0.23 |
| Psychosocial assessments | ||||
| PSS, average over one year (SD) | 19.8 (11.4) | 18.6 (10.7) | 0.16 | 0.69 |
| Depression, % (n) | 26.9 (7) | 30 (9) | 0.07 | 0.80 |
1PCI: percutaneous coronary intervention; CABG: coronary artery bypass graft; MI: myocardial infarction; bpm: beats per minute; PSS: perceived stress scale.
2Two-tailed significance in Pearsons χ 2 or one-way ANOVA.