Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the sample by sex.
| Variable | Women N=41,226 |
Men N=38,567 |
P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age at examination (years) | 49.2 (39.5, 59.0) | 50.0 (39.9, 59.9) | <0.001 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 25.7 (22.8, 29.5) | 26.7 (24.3, 29.4) | <0.001 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 130 (118, 147) | 136 (125, 150) | <0.001 |
| Diabetes No. (%) | 1818 (4.4) | 2075 (5.4) | <0.001 |
| Daily smoking No. (%) | 8527 (20.8) | 10947 (28.6) | <0.001 |
| Antihypertensive medication No. (%) | 6718 (17.0) | 6198 (16.9) | 0.49 |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/L) | 5.6 (4.9, 6.4) | 5.6 (4.9, 6.4) | <0.001 |
| Average daily alcohol consumption (g) | 1.0 (0, 6.0) | 8.0 (1.0, 23.0) | <0.001 |
| Average drinking category I No. (%) | 37886 (94.7) | 32827 (88.1) | <0.001 |
| Average drinking category II No. (%) | 1781 (4.5) | 2791 (7.5) | <0.001 |
| Average drinking category III No. (%) | 342 (0.9) | 1663 (4.5) | <0.001 |
| History of stroke No. (%) | 445 (1.1) | 668 (1.7) | <0.001 |
| History of myocardial infarction No. (%) | 484 (1.2) | 1567 (4.1) | <0.001 |
| C-reactive protein (mg/L) | 1.4 (0.7, 3.2) | 1.4 (0.7, 2.9) | 0.51 |
| Nt-proBNP (ng/mL) | 59 (35, 100) | 37 (20, 76) | <0.001 |
Continuous variables are presented as median (25th, 75th percentile), binary variables as absolute and relative frequencies. The P value given is for the Mann-Whitney test or the Chi-square test. N incident AF: All=4,261 (5.3%), women=1,796 (4.4%), men=2,465 (6.4%).
Average drinking categories based on pure alcohol intake: category I, for women 0-19.99 g/day, for men 0-39.99 g/day; category II, for women 20-39.99 g/day, for men 40-59.99 g/day; category III, for women ≥40 g/day, for men ≥60 g/day.
BMI stands for body mass index, Nt-proBNP for N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide.