Table 1.
Baseline characteristics from a subgroup of the AGES-Reykjavik Study
| Men n = 264 | Women n = 292 | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 75.1 ± 4.69 | 75.1 ± 5.26 | 0.993 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 27.0 ± 3.56 | 27.4 ± 4.12 | 0.232 |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 102.4 ± 9.74 | 98.0 ± 11.9 | < 0.001 |
| Education, n (%) | 0.004 | ||
| < High School | 178 (67) | 219 (75) | |
| High School | 42 (16) | 51 (17) | |
| Postsecondary | 44 (17) | 22 (8) | |
| Smoking status, n (%) | < 0.001 | ||
| Never | 81 (31) | 155 (53) | |
| Former | 157 (59) | 105 (36) | |
| Current | 26 (10) | 32 (11) | |
| Moderate to vigorous activity (hours/week) | 2.07 ± 2.73 | 1.43 ± 2.36 | 0.004 |
| Vitamin D (nmol/l) | 59.3 ± 26.4 | 54.4 ± 26.5 | 0.029 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 143 ± 20 | 141 ± 18 | 0.102 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 214 (81) | 223 (76) | 0.178 |
| Type 2 diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 28 (11) | 18 (6) | 0.058 |
| Coronary heart disease, n (%) | 77 (29) | 39 (13) | < 0.001 |
| Current fish oil intake, n (%) | 0.782 | ||
| Never | 64 (24) | 72 (25) | |
| < Daily | 38 (14) | 36 (12) | |
| Daily | 162 (61) | 183 (63) | |
| Plasma polyunsaturated fatty acids (relative % of total fatty acids) | |||
| Long chain n - 3 PUFAs | 10.8 ± 3.11 | 9.93 ± 2.93 | < 0.001 |
| Eicosapentaenoic acid | 3.13 ± 1.68 | 2.74 ± 1.60 | 0.006 |
| Docosapentaenoic acid | 1.20 ± 0.21 | 1.11 ± 0.18 | < 0.001 |
| Docosahexaenoic acid | 6.51 ± 1.51 | 6.08 ± 1.44 | < 0.001 |
| Alpha-linoleic acid | 0.22 ± 0.07 | 0.22 ± 0.07 | 0.844 |
| Long chain n - 6 PUFAs | 24.6±3.29 | 25.0 ± 2.75 | 0.139 |
| Linoleic acid | 17.6 ± 3.10 | 17.9 ± 2.56 | 0.185 |
| Arachidonic acid | 7.02 ± 1.65 | 7.08 ± 1.70 | 0.672 |
Abbreviations: AGES, Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility; PUFAs, poly-unsaturated fatty acids. Values are presented as mean ± s.d. for continuous variables and number (%) for categorical variables.