Table 1.
General characteristics of the study sample
| All | Men | Women | p-value* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total, n (%)a | 1552 | 752 (48.5) | 800 (51.5) | |
| -Job strain ratio >1, n (%)b | 621 (40.0) | 246 (32.7) | 375 (46.9) | <0.01 |
| -Job strain ratio ≤1, n (%)b | 931 (60.0) | 506 (67.3) | 425 (53.1) | |
| Mean age | 46.0 | 46.6 | 45.4 | 0.02 |
| Age, range (median) | 24–71 (46) | 24–71 (47) | 25–68 (45) | |
| Mean heart rate (SD) | 61.0 (9.9) | 59.4 (10.0) | 62.4 (9.5) | <0.01 |
| Heart rate, range (median) | 35–109 (60) | 35–109 (59) | 39–101 (62) | |
| Mean diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 81.3 | 82.5 | 80.2 | <0.01 |
| Mean systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 126.6 | 130.5 | 122.9 | <0.01 |
| Mean BMI (kg/m2) | 25.5 | 26.2 | 24.8 | <0.01 |
| BMI, n (%)b | <0.01** | |||
| -Underweight (BMI <18.5 kg/m2) | 8 (0.5) | 0 (0) | 8 (1.0) | |
| -Normal weight (18.5 ≤BMI <25 kg/m2) | 769 (49.5) | 300 (39.9) | 469 (58.6) | |
| -Overweight (25 ≤BMI <30 kg/m2) | 602 (38.8) | 355 (47.2) | 247 (30.9) | |
| -Obese (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) | 173 (11.1) | 97 (12.9) | 76 (9.5) | |
| Waist measure, mean (cm) | 86.5 | 92.9 | 80.2 | <0.01 |
| Current smokers, % | 260 (16.9) | 95 (12.8) | 165 (20.7) | <0.01 |
| Leisure time physical activity, n (%)b | <0.01 | |||
| -Sedentary leisure time | 147 (9.5) | 86 (11.5) | 61 (7.6) | |
| -Moderate exercise during leisure time | 889 (57.4) | 409 (54.5) | 480 (60.1) | |
| -Regular exercise and training | 468 (30.2) | 225 (30.0) | 243 (30.4) | |
| -Hard exercise or competitive sports | 45 (2.9) | 30 (4.0) | 15 (1.9) | |
| Education, n (%)b | <0.01 | |||
| -Compulsory school | 193 (12.5) | 119 (15.8) | 74 (9.3) | |
| -Lower secondary school | 336 (21.7) | 165 (21.9) | 171 (21.5) | |
| -Upper secondary school | 424 (27.4) | 219 (29.1) | 205 (25.7) | |
| -University education | 596 (38.5) | 249 (33.1) | 347 (43.5) |
aRow percentage
bColumn percentage
*Presented for significant differences between men and women. T-test was used for continuous variables and chi2 for categorical variables
**Fisher’s exact test was used since the number of underweight subjects in one of the categories were less than 5, rendering the chi2-test potentially invalid