Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics by Education Level and Race in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, 1987–1989
| White Education Level | Black Education Level | P Value* | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Some High School or Less (n=1834) | High School Graduate/Vocational School (n=4874) | Some College/Graduate School (n=4033) | Some High School or Less (n=1505) | High School Graduate/Vocational School (n=1024) | Some College/Graduate School (n=1082) | ||
| Age, y | 56.4 (5.4) | 54.1 (5.6) | 53.7 (5.8) | 55.2 (5.7) | 52.8 (5.7) | 52.0 (5.5) | <0.0001 |
| Women, % | 49.8 | 58.7 | 45.8 | 60.0 | 65.2 | 62.6 | <0.0001 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 27.9 (5.2) | 27.1 (5.0) | 26.6 (4.5) | 29.9 (6.6) | 29.7 (6.0) | 29.0 (5.6) | <0.0001 |
| Current drinker, % | 43.0 | 63.4 | 76.4 | 28.1 | 31.5 | 37.0 | <0.0001 |
| Current smoker, % | 34.9 | 25.7 | 19.3 | 34.0 | 29.4 | 24.6 | <0.0001 |
| Diabetes, % | 14.6 | 9.1 | 6.7 | 24.2 | 18.5 | 14.1 | <0.0001 |
| Systolic BP, mm Hg | 121.7 (17.6) | 118.9 (17.1) | 116.5 (16.3) | 132.0 (22.1) | 128.2 (22.5) | 126.0 (19.3) | <0.0001 |
| Use of antihypertensive medications, % | 33.6 | 26.5 | 21.3 | 49.5 | 40.7 | 39.5 | <0.0001 |
| Total family income, % | <0.0001 | ||||||
| Under $25 000 | 55.7 | 27.8 | 12.0 | 90.1 | 76.3 | 39.5 | |
| $25 000 to $49 999 | 37.0 | 49.2 | 36.6 | 8.8 | 20.5 | 42.0 | |
| $50 000 or higher | 7.3 | 23.0 | 51.4 | 1.1 | 3.2 | 18.5 | |
| Prevalent heart failure, % | 5.5 | 3.9 | 2.9 | 9.9 | 6.6 | 4.1 | <0.0001 |
| Prevalent myocardial infarction, % | 8.0 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 4.7 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 0.17 |
| Prevalent stroke, % | 2.5 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 0.10 |
Values are percentage or mean (SD). BP indicates blood pressure.
*
P value compares differences in overall means and percentages between whites and blacks.