Table 2. Baseline clinical and laboratory characteristics by the percentage of total daily caloric intake from dinner.
| Lower tertile | Middle tertile | Higher tertile | |
| Number | 423 | 418 | 404 |
| Age (years)1 | 54.4±5.7 | 54.5±5.7 | 54.1±5.6 |
| Males (%) | 47.5 | 45.0 | 45.3 |
| Education (%) | |||
| Secondary school | 19.4 | 17.5 | 19.3 |
| Graduated | 9.0 | 8.4 | 9.2 |
| Living in a rural area (%) | 40.9 | 40.0 | 36.9 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg)1 | 131.6±15.4 | 132.3±15.9 | 131.0±14.9 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg)1 | 81.7±8.2 | 82.6±9.7 | 81.9±8.8 |
| BMI (kg/m2)1 | 24.6±2.9 | 24.9±2.7 | 24.9±2.9 |
| Waist circumference (cm)1 | 86.8±10.9 | 87.6±9.9 | 87.5±10.6 |
| Fasting glucose (mg/dl)1 | 99.4±20.1 | 99.5±18.2 | 101.0±23.8 |
| HbA1c (%) | 5.04±0.45 | 5.07±0.44 | 5.09±0.47 |
| Triglycerides (mg/dl)2 | 113.0 (63.0) | 107.0 (69.0) | 113.0 (67.0) |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dl)1 | 219.4±40.1 | 213.7±42.0 | 218.0±40.3 |
| HDL cholesterol (mg/dl)1 | 62.4±14.1 | 61.2±13.0 | 61.4±13.5 |
| Fasting insulin (µU/ml)2 | 6.7 (1.8) | 6.6 (1.7) | 6.7 (2.3) |
| HOMA-IR score (mmol/l×µU/ml)2 | 1.6 (0.6) | 1.6 (0.6) | 1.6 (0.7) |
| ALT (UI/l)2 | 17.0 (12.0) | 18.0 (13.0) | 17.5 (11.0) |
| GGT (UI/l)2 | 17.0 (17.0) | 17.0 (13.0) | 17.0 (16.0) |
| NAFLD score2 | −3.0 (1.4) | −2.9 (1.3) | −2.9 (1.4) |
| Prevalent NAFLD3 (%) | 10.7 | 7.5 | 9.3 |
| CRP (mg/l)2 | 1.1 (1.6) | 1.0 (1.6) | 1.2 (1.7) |
| IFG (%) | 10.4 | 13.9 | 14.9 |
| Metabolic syndrome (%) | 27.9 | 30.9 | 29.7 |
1
mean±SD.
2
median (inter-quartile range).
3
NAFLD was defined as >5% estimated liver fat percent [15].
a
p<0.01 vs tertile 1;
b
p<0.05 vs tertile 1; p-values were evaluated by ANOVA or chi-square-test.
Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR); alanine aminotransferase (ALT); γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT); non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); C-reactive protein (CRP); impaired fasting glucose (IFG).