Table 1.
Baseline characteristics according to tertiles of waist circumference.
| Tertile 1 (n = 394) | Tertile 2 (n = 393) | Tertile 3 (n = 367) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waist circumference cm (mean range) | |||
| Mena | 87 (70–92) | 97 (93–101) | 109 (102–133) |
| Womena | 76 (59–84) | 89 (85–93) | 102 (94–127) |
| Male gender (%) | 80 | 82 | 80 |
| Age (years)a | 58 ± 10 | 59 ± 10 | 60 ± 9 |
| Current smoking (%) | 37 | 31 | 40 |
| Medical history | |||
| Peripheral artery disease (%) | 23 | 25 | 19 |
| AAA (%) | 8 | 8 | 11 |
| Cerebral artery disease (%) | 27 | 22 | 22 |
| Coronary artery disease (%) | 57 | 65 | 70 |
| Diabetes mellitus type 2 (%) | 9 | 13 | 24 |
| BMI (kg/m2)a | 24.0 ± 2.5 | 26.4 ± 2.1 | 30.5 ± 3.5 |
| Subcutaneous adipose tissue (cm)a | 2.2 ± 1.2 | 2.5 ± 1.3 | 2.8 ± 1.5 |
| Visceral adipose tissue (cm)a | 7.7 ± 1.8 | 9.6 ± 2.1 | 11.3 ± 2.4 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg)a | 140 ± 21 | 143 ± 23 | 145 ± 22 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg)a | 81 ± 11 | 82 ± 12 | 84 ± 12 |
| Metabolic syndrome (%) | 6 | 19 | 57 |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/L)a | 4.8 ± 1.0 | 4.9 ± 1.0 | 5.0 ± 1.0 |
| Triglycerides (mmol/L)b | 1.2 (0.9–1.7) | 1.5 (1.2–2.1) | 1.7 (1.3–2.4) |
| HDL-cholesterol (mmol/L)–mena | 1.32 ± 0.36 | 1.20 ± 0.32 | 1.14 ± 0.32 |
| HDL-cholesterol (mmol/L)–womena | 1.67 ± 0.40 | 1.45 ± 0.40 | 1.34 ± 0.41 |
| LDL-cholesterol (mmol/L)a | 2.8 ± 0.9 | 2.8 ± 0.9 | 2.9 ± 0.9 |
| eGFR (ml/min/1.73m2)a | 78 ± 16 | 77 ± 17 | 79 ± 18 |
| Insulin (mIU/L)b | 7 (5–9) | 10 (8–14) | 13 (10–19) |
| HOMA-IRb | 1.80 (1.20–2.49) | 2.63 (1.97–3.73) | 3.64 (2.61–6.14) |
| hs-CRP (mg/L)b | 1.3 (0.7–3.0) | 1.7 (0.8–3.4) | 2.7 (1.5–4.9) |
| Glucose (mmol/L)a | 5.8 ± 1.3 | 6.2 ± 1.5 | 6.8 ± 2.0 |
| Medication | |||
| Antihypertensive medication (%) | 67 | 75 | 85 |
| Glucose lowering medication (%) | 7 | 10 | 17 |
| Lipid lowering medication (%) | 69 | 72 | 71 |
| Platelet aggregation inhibition (%) | 79 | 77 | 77 |
Data are presented as mean ± SDa or as median plus interquartile range,b unless otherwise indicated. Waist circumference tertiles were separately determined for men and women and thereafter pooled to provide an equal sex-distribution over the tertiles.
AAA: abdominal aorta aneurysm; BMI: body mass index; HDL: high-density lipoprotein; LDL: low-density lipoprotein; eGFR: glomerular filtration rate, estimated by the modification of diet in renal disease (MDRD) equation; HOMA-IR: homeostasis model of assessment–insulin resistance; hs-CRP: high-sensitivity C-reactive protein.