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. 2016 Feb 8;183(5):452–461. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwv253

Table 1.

Baseline Characteristics by Category of High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin T Level at Visit 2, Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, 1990–1992

Characteristic Overall Study Population (n = 11,441)
Undetectable hs-cTnT (<5 ng/L) (n = 7,585)
Detectable hs-cTnT (5–13 ng/L) (n = 3,418)
Elevated hs-cTnT (≥14 ng/L) (n = 438)
P Valuea
Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) %
Age, years 56.7 (5.7) 55.7 (5.5) 58.4 (5.7) 60.0 (5.4) <0.001
Female sex 57.3 66.3 40.2 28.2 <0.001
Black race 24.7 21.0 25.4 42.7 <0.001
Body mass indexb <0.001
 Obese 28.2 24.7 30.5 41.4 <0.001
 Overweight 39.9 39.9 42.2 35.8 0.016
 Normal weight or underweight 31.9 35.4 27.3 23.2 <0.001
SBP, mm Hg 121.0 (18.6) 118.4 (17.0) 124.5 (19.1) 132.6 (24.7) <0.001
DBP, mm Hg 72.2 (10.2) 71.3 (9.7) 73.3 (10.6) 74.0 (12.2) <0.001
Hypertension 28.0 23.3 33.5 48.7 <0.001
Diabetes 13.3 9.6 17.0 34.7 <0.001
HbA1c, % 5.7 (1.1) 5.6 (0.9) 5.9 (1.3) 6.6 (2.0) <0.001
Left ventricular hypertrophy 2.2 1.2 3.3 8.5 <0.001
Total cholesterol, mg/dL 209.6 (39.1) 209.5 (38.2) 209.6 (39.1) 211.8 (49.3) 0.486
HDL cholesterol, mg/dL 50.3 (16.8) 51.8 (17.0) 47.4 (15.9) 45.4 (17.4) <0.001
eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m2 1.5 0.7 1.9 12.9 <0.001
Physical activity index 2.4 (0.8) 2.4 (0.8) 2.5 (0.8) 2.3 (0.8) <0.001
Smoking status <0.001
 Current 21.8 24.0 17.0 21.7 <0.001
 Former 36.8 34.6 41.0 43.2 <0.001
 Never 41.5 41.4 42.0 35.1 0.052
Drinking status <0.001
 Current 57.5 59.6 56.2 43.4 <0.001
 Former 19.6 18.0 20.6 33.9 <0.001
 Never 22.8 22.4 23.2 22.7 0.540
Educational levelc <0.001
 Low 20.1 17.4 22.9 36.3 <0.001
 Mid-level 42.0 44.3 38.4 32.7 <0.001
 High 38.0 38.3 38.8 31.0 0.002
Income per year <0.001
 <$16,000 18.8 16.7 19.5 30.8 <0.001
 $16,000–$34,999 31.6 31.3 31.9 32.0 0.762
 ≥$35,000 45.8 48.5 44.6 31.7 <0.001
 Unknown 3.8 3.5 4.1 5.5 0.037

Abbreviations: DBP, diastolic blood pressure; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; HbA1c, glycated hemoglobin; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; hs-cTnT, high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T; SBP, systolic blood pressure; SD, standard deviation.

a P values for the differences between hs-cTnT groups for continuous variables were obtained using an analysis of variance F-test. P values for different proportions between hs-cTnT groups for categorical/binary variables were obtained by χ2 test.

b Weight (kg)/height (m)2.

c High educational level was defined as a lifetime educational attainment of college, graduate, or professional degree; mid-level education, lifetime educational attainment of 12th grade completion, general education diploma, or vocational training; and low education, lifetime educational attainment of less than 12th grade.