Table 1. Platelets level-specific characteristics of study population by handgrip strength level tertiles.

	Handgrip strength tertiles
	T1 (low)	T2	T3 (high)	p
Lower platelets count
No. at risk	123	142	129
Age, years	77.1 ± 7.3	74.0 ± 6.5	69.4 ± 5.8	<0.001
Male, %	59.3	54.9	57.4	0.768
Systolic blood pressure, mmHg	152 ± 12	154 ± 14	151 ± 11	0.071
Diastolic blood pressure, mmHg	84 ± 10	87 ± 11	91 ± 9	<0.001
Body mass index, kg/m2	23.8 ± 3.7	23.8 ± 3.3	23.9 ± 3.1	0.932
Current drinker, %	58.5	52.8	53.5	0.606
Current smoker, %	1.6	6.3	7.0	0.107
Serum triglycerides (TG), mg/dL	96 ± 47	101 ± 50	103 ± 62	0.591
Serum HDL-cholesterol (HDL), mg/dL	59 ± 15	57 ± 15	61 ± 17	0.222
SerumHbA1c, %	5.7 ± 0.6	5.6 ± 0.4	5.6 ± 0.6	0.358
Mean carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), mm	0.75 ± 0.15	0.73 ± 0.14	0.69 ± 0.12	<0.001
Higher platelets count
No. at risk	149	124	128
Age, years	76.1 ± 7.4	73.1 ± 6.8	68.2 ± 5.9	<0.001
Male, %	56.4	55.6	57.0	0.976
Systolic blood pressure, mmHg	153 ± 12	152 ± 13	151 ± 14	0.387
Diastolic blood pressure, mmHg	84 ± 10	86 ± 10	91 ± 9	<0.001
Body mass index, kg/m2	23.4 ± 3.0	23.3 ± 2.9	24.1 ± 2.8	0.053
Current drinker, %	57.0	47.6	50.1	0.136
Current smoker, %	0.0	0.8	18.0	<0.001
Serum triglycerides (TG), mg/dL	115 ± 57	112 ± 57	136 ± 102	0.022
Serum HDL-cholesterol (HDL), mg/dL	60 ± 15	58 ± 16	59 ± 16	0.789
SerumHbA1c, %	5.7 ± 0.4	5.9 ± 0.7	5.7 ± 0.5	0.015
Mean carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), mm	0.72 ± 0.15	0.73 ± 0.16	0.71 ± 0.13	0.479

Handgrip strength levels tertiles: <25.5 kg, 25.5-35.0 kg, and >35.0kg for men and <18.5kg, 18.5-22.0kg, and >22.0kg for women. Lower platelets are defined as < 21.6×10⁴ /μL for men and < 22.6×10⁴ /μL for women.