Table 1. Socioeconomic, demographic, and clinical characteristics of the study participants.
| Characteristic | Male (n = 729) | Female (n = 879) | Total (n = 1,608) |
| Age, years, mean (SD) | 37.4 (14.7) | 38.0 (15.5) | 37.7 (15.1) |
| Schooling, % | |||
| No elementary education | 73.8 | 71.8 | 72.7 |
| Elementary education | 16.9 | 16.3 | 16.5 |
| Intermediate education | 7.0 | 10.0 | 8.6 |
| Higher education | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.1 |
| Family income, minimum wage, % a | |||
| <1 | NA | NA | 41.1 |
| 1 to 2 | NA | NA | 33.7 |
| 2 to 3 | NA | NA | 18.1 |
| ≥ 3 | NA | NA | 7.0 |
| Smoker, % | 26,2 | 13,1 | 19,0 |
| Consumption of alcohol, % | 31,1 | 8,9 | 19,0 |
| Participation in physical activity, % | 49.4 | 24,0 | 35.5 |
| Height, cm, mean (SD) | 165.7 (6.8) | 153.6 (5.8) | 159.1 (8.7) |
| BMI in kg/m2, mean (SD) | 26.2 (4.1) | 27.6 (5.0) | 27.0 (4.7) |
| Family history of hypertension, % | 41.6 | 52.6 | 47.8 |
| Blood pressure in mmHg, mean (SD) | |||
| systolic | 126.2 (19.2) | 125.0 (21.1) | 125.5 (20.3) |
| diastolic | 81.6 (12.6) | 80.3 (14.3) | 80.7 (13.6) |
| Diabetes, % | 2.9 | 7.8 | 5.8 |
| Hypertension, % b | 28.5 | 30.3 | 29.5 |
| Hypertension for age in years, % | |||
| 18–29 | 13.4 | 8.3 | 10.6 |
| 30–39 | 24.4 | 25.7 | 25.1 |
| 40–49 | 37.3 | 43.3 | 41.1 |
| 50–59 | 54.1 | 72.6 | 63.3 |
| ≥ 60 | 54.3 | 54.9 | 54.6 |
Notes:
SD, standard deviation;
NA, not available.
a, Minimum wage at time of study: 315 USD. Not included in the male/female columns because it reflects the whole family income.
b, Blood pressure systolic ≥140 and/or diastolic ≥90 mmHg.