Table 2.

Average causal mediation effects of modifiable risk factors on the association between education level and cardiovascular incidence at 6 years.

Mediator	ACME (95% CI)	p-value
Diabetes	815 (262, 1660)	<0.001
Dyslipidemia	−52 (−2030, 1830)	0.97
Hypertension	2170 (711, 4520)	<0.001
Smoking	−620 (−1960, 267)	0.18
BMI	1080 (92, 3330)	<0.001
PA	232 (−169, 867)	0.26

ACMEs and their corresponding CIs are expressed as the expected difference in the number of CVD-free days when the mediator takes the value observed in individuals with university education compared to those with primary or lower education. Mediators were modeled with linear (BMI, PA), logistic (Diabetes, Dyslipidemia, Hypertension), and ordered logistic (Smoking) regression models; CVD incidence with a parametric survival model. Monte Carlo simulations were used to obtain the CI.ACME: average causal mediation effect; BMI: body mass index; CI: confidence interval;PA: physical activity.