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. 2015 Sep 23;183(5):435–443. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwv112

Table 1.

Baseline Characteristics, Correlation of Continuous Variables, and Concordance of Categorical Variables Within 3,889 Spouse Pairs, Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, 1987–1989

Characteristic Individual
Paired Concordancea
Correlationb ORc 95% CI
Men
Women
H+ W+, % H− W−, % H+ W−, % H− W+, %
Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) %
Continuous baseline characteristics
 Age, years 55.4 (5.4) 53.0 (5.2) 0.80
 BMId 27.5 (4.0) 26.9 (5.5) 0.18
 Self-reported BMI at 25 years of age 24.2 (3.4) 21.9 (3.2) 0.05
 Alcohol intake, g/week 64.3 (108.6) 21.4 (47.8) 0.39
 Calorie intake, kcal/day 1,767 (634) 1,503 (519) 0.13
Categorical baseline characteristics
 White race 86.6 86.7 83.5 12.8 0.0 0.1 e
 Less than a high school education 19.5 14.5 8.2 74.2 11.3 6.3 8.55 7.03, 10.39
 Employed 82.6 64.4 56.6 9.5 26.0 0.8 2.60 2.19, 3.07
 Obese (BMI ≥30d) 22.6 24.7 8.1 60.8 14.6 16.6 2.03 1.72, 2.39
 Obese at 25 years of age (BMI ≥30d) 5.92 2.69 0.3 91.7 5.6 2.3 2.36 1.30, 4.30
 Current smoker 22.6 19.6 8.5 66.3 14.2 11.1 3.57 3.01, 4.23
 Does not meet physical activity guidelines 55.5 67.4 40.3 17.5 15.1 27.1 1.72 1.50, 1.97
 Poor diet scoref (<2) 33.2 19.8 9.1 56.0 24.2 10.7 1.95 1.66, 2.29
 Diabetes 10.6 8.1 1.4 82.6 9.3 6.7 1.82 1.33, 2.49
 History of coronary heart disease 8.4 1.6 0.3 90.3 8.1 1.3 2.79 1.47, 5.31
 Hypertension 32.0 28.1 11.4 51.3 20.5 16.8 1.71 1.47, 1.97
 History of lung disease 4.3 4.4 0.4 91.6 4.0 4.0 2.24 1.29, 3.89
 History of cancer 4.3 6.4 0.5 89.8 3.8 5.9 2.18 1.35, 3.50

Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; CI, confidence interval; H, husband; OR, odds ratio; SD, standard deviation; W, wife.

a H+W+ indicates couples in which both the husband and wife have the characteristic; H−W−, couples in which neither have it. H+W− and H−W+ indicate discordant pairs.

b The Pearson correlation coefficient within spouse pairs is shown for continuous variables.

c ORs within spouse pairs represent one's odds of having the characteristic if his or her spouse has the characteristic or the odds of having the characteristic if his or her spouse does not have the characteristic. OR = (H+W+ × H−W−)/(H+W− × H−W+).

d Weight (kg)/height (m2).

e Only 4 pairs were not concordant on race.

f Calculated based on American Heart Association guidelines.