Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of Dallas Heart Study participants stratified according to level of Perceived Lifetime Risk* for Cardiovascular Disease (N=2,998)
| Least Likely | Most likely | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| (n = 736) | (n = 772) | (n = 806) | (n = 372) | (n=312) | P-value | |
| Variable: | ||||||
| Age (years) | 42 ± 10 | 43 ± 10 | 44 ± 10 | 45 ± 9 | 44 ± 10 | <0.001 |
| Men | 339 (46%) | 317 (41%) | 363 (45%) | 175 (47%) | 128 (41%) | 0.665 |
| Race | ||||||
| Black | 464 (63%) | 340 (44%) | 347 (43%) | 167 (45%) | 162 (52%) | <.0001 |
| White | 110 (15%) | 239 (31%) | 298 (37%) | 167 (45%) | 97 (31%) | <.0001 |
| Hispanic | 147 (20%) | 170 (22%) | 145 (18%) | 34 (9%) | 44 (14%) | <.0001 |
| Other | 15 (2%) | 23 (3%) | 16 (2%) | 4 (1%) | 9 (3%) | 0.926 |
| Family history of premature MI | 52 (7%) | 62 (8%) | 73 (9%) | 56 (15%) | 66 (21%) | <0.001 |
| Systolic Blood Pressure (mm Hg) | 123 ± 18 | 122 ± 17 | 124 ± 18 | 127 ± 18 | 127 ± 20 | <0.001 |
| Diabetes Mellitus | 66 (9%) | 62 (8%) | 73 (9%) | 56 (15%) | 53 (17%) | <0.001 |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dl) | 176 ± 38 | 180 ± 37 | 182 ± 38 | 184 ± 41 | 183 ± 46 | 0.001 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 30 ± 7 | 30 ± 8 | 30 ± 7 | 31 ± 7 | 32 ± 8 | 0.0002 |
| Current smoker | 191 (26%) | 178 (23%) | 234 (29%) | 130 (35%) | 100 (32%) | 0.0001 |
| Low predicted lifetime risk for CVD | 427 (58%) | 425 (55%) | 419 (52%) | 182 (49%) | 153 (49%) | 0.0002 |
| High predicted lifetime risk for CVD | 309 (42%) | 347 (45%) | 387 (48%) | 190 (51%) | 159 (51%) | 0.0002 |
| Stress level | ||||||
| None | 132 (18%) | 62 (8%) | 40 (5%) | 15 (4%) | 16 (5%) | <.0001 |
| Extremely high | 44 (6%) | 46 (6%) | 73 (9%) | 45 (12%) | 69 (22%) | <.0001 |
| Perceived health | ||||||
| Excellent | 162 (22%) | 100 (13%) | 81 (10%) | 26 (7%) | 19 (6%) | <.0001 |
| Poor | 7 (1%) | 15 (2%) | 16 (2%) | 22 (6%) | 34 (11%) | <.0001 |
| Education Level | ||||||
| < High School | 179 (24%) | 153 (20%) | 128 (16%) | 51 (14%) | 74 (24%) | 0.013 |
| High School | 247 (34%) | 214 (28%) | 232 (29%) | 115 (31%) | 112 (36%) | 0.656 |
| Some College | 202 (27%) | 221 (29%) | 223 (28%) | 114 (31%) | 82 (26%) | 0.905 |
| College + | 107 (15%) | 184 (24%) | 223 (28%) | 92 (25%) | 44 (14%) | 0.078 |
*
Perceived Lifetime Risk was determined by the response to survey question: “On a scale of 1-5, how likely is it that you will have a heart attack in your lifetime?” Those who selected “1-least likely” were defined as Low Perceived Lifetime Risk for CVD, whereas those who selected “5-most likely” were defined as High Perceived Lifetime Risk for CVD.