Table 1.
Characteristics of the study sample by categories of financial strain for 500 disease-free participants drawn from the Whitehall II epidemiological cohort between 2006 and 2008 in United Kingdom.
| Factor and category | Financial strain |
P | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No |
Yes |
||||
| (n = 292) | (n = 208) | ||||
| Fibrinogen (mean mg/dL ± SD) | 307.4 | ± 56.5 | 322.1 | ± 65.3 | 0.008 |
| Age (mean years ± SD) | 62.9 | ± 5.4 | 63.1 | ± 6.1 | 0.741 |
| Male (%) | 55.1 | 55.3 | 0.973 | ||
| Latest grade of employment (%) | < 0.001 | ||||
| Higher | 46.2 | 28.4 | |||
| Intermediate | 36.3 | 44.2 | |||
| Lower | 17.5 | 27.4 | |||
| Current smoker (%) | 4.5 | 6.3 | 0.374 | ||
| Alcohol consumption (%) | 0.633 | ||||
| No alcohol | 13.0 | 19.2 | |||
| Below recommended levels | 75.0 | 64.9 | |||
| Above recommended levels | 12.0 | 15.9 | |||
| Hours of physical activity per week (%) | 0.073 | ||||
| < 1 h | 21.7 | 25.3 | |||
| 1–4 h | 30.4 | 35.2 | |||
| 5–7 h | 23.8 | 21.3 | |||
| > 7 h | 24.1 | 18.3 | |||
| Body mass index (mean Kg/m2 ± SD) | 25.6 | ± 3.8 | 26.1 | ± 3.9 | 0.179 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mean mm Hg ± SD) | 128.3 | ± 15.7 | 130.1 | ± 15.8 | 0.221 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mean mm Hg ± SD) | 69.6 | ± 8.9 | 69.9 | ± 8.5 | 0.694 |
| Glycated haemoglobin (mean % ± SD) | 5.5 | ± 0.5 | 5.5 | ± 0.4 | 0.659 |
| Triglycerides (median g/L ± IQR) | 1.1 | ± 0.8 | 1.2 | ± 0.7 | 0.974 |
| HDL (mean mmol/L ± SD) | 1.7 | ± 0.5 | 1.6 | ± 0.4 | 0.047 |
| LDL (mean mmol/L ± SD) | 3.0 | ± 0.9 | 3.0 | ± 0.8 | 0.591 |
| Total cholesterol (mean mmol/L ± SD) | 5.3 | ± 0.9 | 5.3 | ± 0.9 | 0.692 |
| Total cholesterol/HDL ratio (mean ± SD) | 3.3 | ± 1.1 | 3.4 | ± 1.0 | 0.284 |
| HS-CRP (median mg/L ± IQR) | 1.0 | ± 1.3 | 1.0 | ± 1.6 | 0.149 |
| Salivary cortisol (mean nmol/L ± SD) | 6.5 | ± 4.1 | 6.6 | ± 4.8 | 0.681 |
| HS-IL-6 (median pg/ml ± IQR) | 1.1 | ± 0.8 | 1.2 | ± 0.9 | 0.537 |
| Von Willebrand factor (mean % ± SD) | 104.2 | ± 39.6 | 105.8 | ± 39.9 | 0.648 |
| MCP-1 (median pg/mL ± IQR) | 137.2 | ± 60.9 | 138.4 | ± 53.5 | 0.431 |
| CES-D (median score ± IQR) | 4.0 | ± 7.0 | 6.0 | ± 8.0 | 0.002 |
| SF-36 mental health (median score ± IQR) | 84.0 | ± 16.0 | 80.0 | ± 20.0 | 0.001 |
| SF-36 mental component (median score ± IQR) | 85.1 | ± 10.8 | 82.0 | ± 16.6 | < 0.001 |
| Positive affect (median score ± IQR) | 25.0 | ± 8.0 | 22.0 | ± 8.0 | < 0.001 |
| Negative affect (median score ± IQR) | 2.0 | ± 4.0 | 4.0 | ± 5.0 | 0.001 |
| Agatston coronary calcium score (%) | 0.954 | ||||
| None | 42.5 | 44.7 | |||
| < 100 | 32.9 | 31.7 | |||
| < 400 | 16.4 | 12.5 | |||
| 400 + | 8.2 | 11.1 | |||
| HS-CTnT detectable (%) | 17.5 | 16.3 | 0.743 | ||
| HS-CTnT concentration if detectable (median ng/L ± IQR) | 5.6 | ± 3.9 | 5.8 | ± 4.4 | 0.661 |
SD = standard deviation. IQR = interquartile range. P values were computed using the likelihood ratio test. Ordered categorical variables such as employment grade, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and coronary calcium score were treated as linear (test for trend).