Table 1. Baseline characteristics of 129,681 study participants according to hs-CRP concentrations at baseline.
| Characteristic | Plasma concentration of hs-CRP (mg/L) | P | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <1.00 | 1.00–2.99 | 3.00–9.99 | ≥10.00 | ||
| n | 66,228 | 36,345 | 21,737 | 5,371 | |
| hs-CRP (mg/L), median (Q1,Q3) | 0.40 (0.20,0.63) | 1.60(1.21,2.10) | 4.90(3.70,6.80) | 14.8(11.6,23.1) | |
| Age (years), mean ± SD | 49.3 ± 12.4 | 51.5 ± 13.0 | 54.4 ± 12.9 | 55.4 ± 13.5 | <0.001 |
| Men, n (%) | 53,557 (80.9) | 29,725 (81.8) | 17,294 (79.6) | 4,356 (81.1) | 0.01 |
| BMI (kg/m2), mean ± SD | 24.4 ± 3.3 | 25.6 ± 3.5 | 25.7 ± 3.7 | 25.4 ± 3.9 | <0.001 |
| Education, n (%) | |||||
| Illiteracy or elementary school | 5,749 (8.7) | 3,903 (10.7) | 2,896 (13.3) | 769 (14.3) | <0.001 |
| Middle school | 54,375 (82.1) | 28,918 (79.6) | 17,034 (78.4) | 4,145 (77.2) | <0.001 |
| College/university | 6,026 (9.1) | 3,440 (9.5) | 1,640 (7.5) | 392 (7.3) | <0.001 |
| Average income, n (%) | |||||
| <¥500/month | 16,378 (24.7) | 7,874 (21.7) | 3,908 (18.0) | 1,023 (19.0) | <0.001 |
| ¥500–2,999/month | 42,045 (63.5) | 22,531 (62.0) | 13,109 (60.3) | 3,213 (59.8) | <0.001 |
| ≥¥3,000/month | 4,380 (6.6) | 2,686 (7.4) | 2,581 (11.9) | 585 (10.9) | <0.001 |
| Smoking status, n (%) | |||||
| Current | 3,338 (5.0) | 2,157 (5.9) | 1,301 (6.0) | 338 (6.3) | <0.001 |
| Past | 23,844 (36.0) | 13,497 (37.1) | 6,991 (32.2) | 1,652 (30.8) | <0.001 |
| Never | 38,989 (58.9) | 20,621 (56.7) | 13,291 (61.1) | 3,318 (61.8) | <0.001 |
| Alcohol intake, n (%) | |||||
| Never | 38,973 (58.8) | 20,246 (55.7) | 13,281 (61.1) | 3,277 (61.0) | <0.001 |
| Lighta | 8,175 (12.3) | 4,876 (13.4) | 2,337 (10.8) | 500 (9.3) | <0.001 |
| Moderateb | 2,885 (4.4) | 1,613 (4.4) | 846 (3.9) | 216 (4.0) | 0.013 |
| Heavyc | 9,486 (14.3) | 4,564 (12.6) | 2,156 (9.9) | 523 (9.7) | <0.001 |
| Past | 1,905 (2.9) | 1,179 (3.2) | 690 (3.2) | 210 (3.9) | <0.001 |
| Physical activity, n (%) | |||||
| Never | 8,476 (12.8) | 5,100 (14.0) | 2,779 (12.8) | 598 (11.1) | 0.41 |
| 1–2 times/week | 47,633 (71.9) | 24,479 (67.4) | 15,512 (71.4) | 3,935 (73.3) | 0.003 |
| 3+ times/week | 10,050 (15.2) | 6,691 (18.4) | 3,271 (15.0) | 764 (14.2) | 0.179 |
| TC (mmol/L), mean ± SD | 4.88 ± 1.12 | 5.00 ± 1.11 | 4.97 ± 1.11 | 4.90 ± 1.12 | <0.001 |
| TG (mmol/L), mean ± SD | 1.56 ± 1.31 | 1.78 ± 1.47 | 1.78 ± 1.47 | 1.65 ± 1.37 | <0.001 |
| LDL-C (mmol/L), mean ± SD | 2.43 ± 0.78 | 2.52 ± 0.85 | 2.34 ± 1.17 | 2.10 ± 1.28 | <0.001 |
| HDL-C (mmol/L), mean ± SD | 1.54 ± 0.41 | 1.49 ± 0.41 | 1.51 ± 0.43 | 1.56 ± 0.52 | <0.001 |
| Blood-pressure status, n (%) | |||||
| Normal | 26,106 (39.4) | 11,539 (31.8) | 6,234 (28.7) | 1,601 (29.8) | <0.001 |
| Prehypertension | 16,637 (25.1) | 8,498 (23.4) | 4,966 (22.9) | 1,138 (21.2) | <0.001 |
| Hypertension | 23,485 (35.5) | 16,308 (44.9) | 10,537 (48.5) | 2,632 (49.0) | <0.001 |
| Blood glucose status, n (%) | |||||
| Normal | 48,182 (72.8) | 23,891 (65.7) | 14,337 (66.0) | 3,524 (65.6) | <0.001 |
| Prediabetes | 13,153 (19.9) | 8,298 (22.8) | 4,402 (20.3) | 1,060 (19.7) | 0.004 |
| Diabetes | 4,893 (7.4) | 4,156 (11.4) | 2,998 (13.8) | 787 (14.7) | <0.001 |
| History of CVD, n (%) | 2,850 (4.3) | 2,248 (6.2) | 1,544 (7.1) | 450 (8.4) | <0.001 |
| Antihypertensive treatment, n (%) | 8,265 (12.5) | 6,642 (18.3) | 4,416 (20.3) | 1,110 (20.7) | <0.001 |
| Antihyperglycemic treatment, n (%) | 2,165 (3.3) | 1,824 (5.0) | 1,401 (6.5) | 391 (7.3) | <0.001 |
| Lipid-lowering treatment, n (%) | 857 (1.3) | 683 (1.9) | 527 (2.4) | 140 (2.6) | <0.001 |
| Use of aspirin, n (%) | 821 (1.2) | 755 (2.1) | 569 (2.6) | 164 (3.1) | <0.001 |
aLight: 0.1–0.4 servings per day (women), 0.1–0.9 servings per day (men).
bModerate: 0.5–1.5 servings per day (women), 1–2 servings per day (men).
cHeavy: >1.5 servings per day (women), >2 servings per day (men). A serving equates to 15 g of alcohol.
BMI, body mass index; CVD, cardiovascular disease; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; hs-CRP, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; TC, total cholesterol; TG, triglycerides.