Table 2.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of 3,296 MESA participants by the occurrence of carotid plaque progression over the 9.5-year study period
| All | (+) Plaque Progression | (−) No Plaque Progression | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | 3296 | 1854 | 1442 | |
| Age, years (SD) | 60.3 (9.4) | 62.3 (9.2) | 57.7 (8.9) | <0.001 |
| Sex, n (% female) | 1547 (46.9) | 917 (49.5) | 630 (43.7) | <0.001 |
| Race/ethnicity, n (%) | 0.002 | |||
| White | 1292 (39.2%) | 775 (41.8%) | 517 (35.9%) | |
| Chinese | 435 (13.2%) | 218 (11.8%) | 217 (15.0%) | |
| Black | 862 (26.2%) | 471 (25.4%) | 391 (27.1%) | |
| Hispanic | 707 (21.5%) | 390 (21.0%) | 317 (22.0%) | |
| Smoking, n (%) | <0.001 | |||
| Never | 1707 (51.9%) | 876 (47.3%) | 831 (57.7%) | |
| Former | 1208 (36.7%) | 727 (39.3%) | 481 (33.4%) | |
| Current | 376 (11.4%) | 248 (13.4%) | 128 (8.9%) | |
| BMI (kg/m2), mean (SD) | 28.3 (5.3) | 28.4 (5.2) | 28.0 (5.3) | 0.016 |
| SBP (mm Hg), mean (SD) | 124.3 (20.2) | 127.1 (20.4) | 120.6 (19.3) | <0.001 |
| Hypertension medication, n (%) | 1150 (34.9%) | 743 (40.1%) | 407 (28.2%) | <0.001 |
| Lipid lowering medication, n (%)* | 1297 (39.4%) | 816 (44.0%) | 481 (33.4%) | <0.001 |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 328 (10.0%) | 236 (12.7%) | 92 (6.4%) | <0.001 |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/L), mean (SD) | 5.02 (0.91) | 5.05 (0.92) | 4.99 (0.89) | 0.04 |
| HDL-C (mmol/L), mean (SD) | 1.32 (0.39) | 1.30 (0.38) | 1.34 (0.39) | 0.002 |
| Omega-3 PUFAs, mean (SD)† | ||||
| ALA | 0.17 (0.07) | 0.17 (0.08) | 0.17 (0.07) | 0.9 |
| EPA | 0.93 (0.84) | 0.92 (0.83) | 0.94 (0.86) | 0.5 |
| DHA | 3.88 (1.49) | 3.82 (1.46) | 3.97 (1.52) | 0.005 |
| Omega-6 PUFAs, mean (SD) | ||||
| LA | 20.2 (3.27) | 20.1 (3.24) | 20.4 (3.30) | 0.003 |
| GLA | 0.11 (0.06) | 0.16 (0.05) | 0.11 (0.06) | 0.20 |
| DGLA | 3.18 (0.83) | 3.20 (0.82) | 3.16 (0.84) | 0.13 |
| AA | 11.8 (2.54) | 11.8 (2.56) | 11.7 (2.51) | 0.36 |
Definitions: SBP=systolic blood pressure; BMI=body mass index; diabetes=treated or untreated; HDL-C=high density lipoprotein-cholesterol; LDL-C=low density lipoprotein-cholesterol; PUFAs=polyunsaturated fatty acid; ALA=alpha-linolenic acid; EPA=eicosapentaenoic acid; DHA=docosahexaenoic acid; LA=linoleic acid; GLA=gamma-linolenic acid; DGLA=dihomo-gamma linolenic acid; AA=arachidonic acid
*
At the time of Exam 5
†
PUFAs are expressed as % of total plasma phospholipid fatty acids