Table 1.

Baseline characteristics of the study sample

LDL (in mg/dL) group	Overall sample (n=3012)	Group 1 LDL <100 No treatment (n=546)	Group 2 100≤ LDL <130 No treatment (n=931)	Group 3 LDL <130 On treatment (n=170)	Group 4 LDL ≥130 No treatment (n=1233)	Group 5 LDL ≥130 On treatment (n=132)
Clinical and biochemical features
Age, years; mean±SD	58.4±9.6	56.2±9.7	57.9±9.7	63.7±8.5	58.4±9.3	62.7±7.6
Women, n (%)	1671 (55.5)	348 (63.7)	506 (54.4)	75 (44.1)	667 (54.1)	75 (56.8)
LDL cholesterol, mg/dL; mean±SD	127.9±33.7	83.5±13.1	115.7±8.4	104.1±18.9	156.9±23.1	157.4±23.8
Total cholesterol, mg/dL; mean±SD	205.8±37.3	163.0±22.6	192.7±18.4	182.2±26.1	234.6±27.6	238.2±30.6
HDL cholesterol, mg/dL; mean±SD	52.1±16.0	58.0±19.9	52.3±16.1	45.0±13.3	50.8±13.9	47.4±11.5
Lipid-lowering treatment, n (%)	302 (10.0)	0	0	170 (100.0)	0	132 (100.0)
Statin treatment, n (%)	224 (7.4)	0	0	140 (82.4)	0	84 (63.6)
Systolic BP, mm Hg; mean±SD	127.7±18.6	123.1±18.2	126.6±18.3	136.8±19.5	128.8±18.3	133.4±18.0
Diastolic BP, mm Hg; mean±SD	75.6±9.4	73.6±9.6	75.2±9.2	76.4±9.2	76.5±9.5	77.7±9.2
Blood pressure-lowering treatment, n (%)	726 (24.1)	88 (16.1)	227 (24.4)	100 (58.8)	256 (20.8)	55 (41.7)
Body mass index, kg/m²; mean±SD	27.8±5.2	26.6±5.2	27.8±5.4	29.4±4.9	28.1±5.1	28.7±4.5
Smoking, n (%)	437 (14.5)	75 (13.7)	125 (13.4)	14 (8.2)	201 (16.3)	22 (16.7)
Diabetes, n (%)	227 (7.5)	37 (6.8)	64 (6.9)	37 (21.8)	69 (5.6)	20 (15.2)
BNP, pg/mL, median (Q1, Q3)	7.7 (4.0, 16.8)	8.6 (4.0, 19.6)	8.3 (4.0, 18.4)	10.3 (4.0, 22.5)	6.7 (4.0, 14.5)	8.8 (4.0, 16.5)
CRP, mg/L, median (Q1, Q3)	2.0 (0.9, 4.5)	1.8 (0.7, 5.0)	1.8 (0.8, 3.9)	2.4 (1.0, 5.0)	2.1 (1.0, 4.5)	2.8 (1.2, 4.8)

Sample size with available BNP levels, n=2997; sample size with available CRP levels, n=2909.

BNP, B-type natriuretic peptide; BP, blood pressure; CRP, C reactive protein; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein.