Table 1. Baseline characteristics of the study population.
| Characteristic | All participants (n = 9,061) |
Men (n = 3,603) |
Women (n = 5,458) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years), median (IQR) | 61.7 (57.5–70.0) | 61.2 (57.1–68.1) | 62.2 (57.7–71.2) |
| Marital status | |||
| Living with partner | 6,427 (70.9%) | 3,073 (85.3%) | 3,354 (61.5%) |
| Living without partner | 2,633 (29.1%) | 530 (14.7%) | 2,103 (38.5%) |
| Educational level | |||
| Primary | 1,476 (16.3%) | 412 (11.4%) | 1,060 (19.4%) |
| Lower | 3,672 (40.5%) | 1,048 (29.0%) | 2,632 (48.2%) |
| Further | 2,461 (27.2%) | 1,278 (35.4%) | 1,188 (21.8%) |
| Higher | 1,452 (16.0%) | 865 (24.0%) | 578 (10.6%) |
| Smoking status | |||
| Never | 3,104 (34.3%) | 569 (15.8%) | 2,537 (46.4%) |
| Former | 3,762 (41.5%) | 1,952 (54.2%) | 1,812 (33.2%) |
| Current | 2,195 (24.2%) | 1,082 (30.0%) | 1,109 (20.3%) |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 139 ± 21 | 140 ± 20 | 138 ± 21 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 79 ± 11 | 80 ± 11 | 78 ± 11 |
| Use of blood-pressure-lowering medication | 1,881 (20.8%) | 627 (17.4%) | 1,254 (23.0%) |
| Hypertension | 4,696 (51.8%) | 1,844 (51.2%) | 2,852 (52.3%) |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 26.9 ± 4.1 | 26.7 ± 3.4 | 27.0 ± 4.4 |
| Overweight | 5,751 (63.5%) | 2,324 (64.5%) | 3,427 (62.8%) |
| Years to first NCD diagnosis, median (IQR) | 7.4 (3.5–11.9) | 6.7 (3.3–11.2) | 8.0 (3.7–12.5) |
| Presence of risk factors of smoking, hypertension, and overweight at baseline | |||
| None of the 3 risk factors | 1,343 (14.8%) | 475 (13.2%) | 868 (15.9%) |
| 1 | 3,428 (37.8%) | 1,334 (37.0%) | 2,094 (38.4%) |
| 2 | 3,656 (40.3%) | 1,463 (40.6%) | 2,193 (40.2%) |
| All 3 risk factors | 634 (7.0%) | 331 (9.2%) | 303 (5.6%) |
Imputed data presented as frequency (percent) for categorical values and mean ± SD for continuous variables, unless indicated otherwise. Data at baseline were virtually complete (<2.0% missing).
IQR, interquartile range; NCD, non-communicable disease; SD, standard deviation.