Table 1. Baseline Characteristics of 21 758 Generally Healthy Men by Physical Activity Level and CAC Categoriesa.
| Characteristic | Physical Activity Category, MET-min/wk | All Men (N = 21 758) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAC <100 AU | CAC ≥100 AU | ||||||||
| <1500 (n = 12 413) | 1500-2999 (n = 2902) | ≥3000 (n = 1129) | P Value for Trend | <1500 (n = 4034) | 1500-2999 (n = 848) | ≥3000 (n = 432) | P Value for Trend | ||
| Age, mean (SD), y | 49.5 (7.1) | 49.2 (7.0) | 50.0 (7.2) | .97 | 58.7 (8.5) | 57.9 (8.2) | 58.9 (8.5) | .10 | 51.7 (8.4) |
| White, No. (%) | 11 196 (90.2) | 2616 (90.1) | 1021 (90.4) | .07 | 3681 (91.2) | 775 (91.4) | 390 (90.3) | .07 | 19 679 (90.4) |
| Current smoker, No. (%) | 1874 (15.1) | 306 (10.5) | 136 (12.0) | <.001 | 583 (14.5) | 98 (11.6) | 47 (10.9) | <.001 | 3044 (14.0) |
| Statin use, No. (%) | 1590 (12.8) | 302 (10.4) | 131 (11.6) | <.001 | 1346 (33.4) | 287 (33.8) | 114 (26.4) | .046 | 3770 (17.3) |
| BMI, mean (SD) | 28.1 (4.2) | 27.2 (3.5) | 27.1 (3.6) | <.001 | 28.7 (4.4) | 27.5 (3.8) | 27.1 (3.7) | <.001 | 28.0 (4.1) |
| Systolic blood pressure, mean (SD), mm Hg | 123.4 (13.3) | 122.7 (13.0) | 123.2 (13.3) | .01 | 129.5 (16.1) | 128.4 (15.0) | 129.8 (16.3) | .49 | 124.8 (14.2) |
| Glucose level, mean (SD), mg/dL | 99.8 (19.1) | 97.3 (14.1) | 98.0 (30.3) | <.001 | 104.9 (23.4) | 102.3 (19.7) | 100.5 (21.7) | <.001 | 100.4 (20.3) |
| Cholesterol level, mean (SD), mg/dL | 199.3 (36.6) | 196.4 (35.2) | 195.2 (34.5) | <.001 | 195.5 (40.7) | 193.1 (36.2) | 195.6 (39.0) | .55 | 197.7 (37.2) |
| LDL cholesterol level, mean (SD), mg/dL | 123.9 (32.1) | 121.2 (30.8) | 119.7 (30.6) | <.001 | 119.1 (35.4) | 117.4 (32.5) | 119.3 (35.0) | .53 | 122.1 (32.6) |
| HDL cholesterol level, mean (SD), mg/dL | 48.1 (12.2) | 51.8 (13.2) | 53.4 (13.7) | <.001 | 48.2 (12.9) | 52.1 (13.9) | 52.7 (13.7) | <.001 | 49.1 (12.8) |
| Triglyceride level, mean (SD), mg/dL | 140.2 (103.1) | 119.3 (87.1) | 113.2 (79.5) | <.001 | 146.0 (117.4) | 120.9 (81.0) | 119.4 (76.9) | <.001 | 135.9 (102.2) |
| Calcium level, mean (SD), mg/dL | 9.2 (0.4) | 9.2 (0.4) | 9.2 (0.4) | .046 | 9.2 (0.4) | 9.2 (0.4) | 9.2 (0.4) | .04 | 9.2 (0.4) |
| Framingham Risk Score, mean (SD), % | 8.7 (5.4) | 7.4 (4.7) | 7.6 (4.8) | <.001 | 13.5 (8.0) | 11.5 (6.9) | 12.3 (7.4) | <.001 | 9.5 (6.3) |
| Physical activity level, mean (SD), MET-min/wk | 473.8 (469.2) | 2077.9 (416.7) | 4618.2 (2431.5) | <.001 | 430.7 (470.2) | 2087.1 (422.4) | 4646.9 (2187.9) | <.001 | 1040.6 (1399.6) |
| Physical activity, mean (SD), min/wk | 104.0 (115.8) | 334.4 (179.2) | 712.8 (447.8) | <.001 | 105.2 (157.6) | 353.8 (136.2) | 766.5 (415.0) | <.001 | 189.4 (247.5) |
| Lifetime physical activity, mean (SD), y | 18.1 (13.3) | 22.8 (13.6) | 25.5 (13.6) | <.001 | 20.1 (15.2) | 26.0 (15.1) | 30.2 (16.3) | <.001 | 20.5 (14.2) |
| CAC score, mean (SD), AU | 11.3 (22.7) | 10.3 (21.5) | 11.5 (22.2) | .42 | 736.1 (975.9) | 680.9 (865.2) | 806.7 (1119.9) | .92 | 187.4 (572.1) |
| Calcification volume score, mean (SD) | 11.0 (28.7) | 10.2 (18.2) | 11.5 (18.6) | .32 | 442.9 (539.8) | 410.4 (488.1) | 474.0 (592.4) | .91 | 128.3 (572.1) |
| No. of calcification lesions, mean (SD) | 1.1 (2.1) | 1.0 (1.7) | 1.2 (2.7) | .41 | 12.5 (12.8) | 11.8 (9.8) | 12.1 (8.6) | .33 | 4.2 (8.2) |
| Cardiorespiratory fitness, mean (SD), MET | 11.0 (1.9) | 12.4 (2.0) | 12.9 (2.3) | <.001 | 10.1 (2.0) | 11.4 (2.1) | 11.8 (2.2) | <.001 | 11.2 (2.1) |
| V̇o2max, mean (SD), mL/kg/min | 38.6 (6.8) | 43.3 (7.0) | 45.1 (8.0) | <.001 | 35.4 (6.9) | 40.1 (7.4) | 41.3 (7.8) | <.001 | 39.2 (7.4) |
| V̇o2max ≥50 mL/kg/min, No. (%) | 571 (5.3) | 439 (16.9) | 246 (24.7) | <.001 | 68 (2.2) | 65 (9.2) | 48 (13.4) | <.001 | 1437 (7.7) |
| Maximum heart rate, mean (SD), bpm | 174.8 (13.4) | 174.6 (12.6) | 173.7 (12.5) | .02 | 165.0 (14.9) | 166.7 (13.7) | 165.9 (14.5) | .005 | 172.6 (14.1) |
| Heart rate recovery at 1 min, mean (SD), bpm | 23.1 (7.5) | 24.9 (7.9) | 25.4 (7.9) | <.001 | 21.8 (8.2) | 22.7 (8.4) | 24.4 (8.9) | <.001 | 23.2 (7.8) |
Abbreviations: AU, Agatston units; BMI, body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared); bpm, beats per minute; CAC, coronary artery calcification; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; MET, metabolic equivalent of task; V̇o2max, maximum oxygen consumption.
SI conversion factors: To convert calcium to millimoles per liter, multiply by 0.25; cholesterol to millimoles per liter, multiply by 0.0259; glucose to millimoles per liter, multiply by 0.0555; triglycerides to millimoles per liter, multiply by 0.0113.
Sample sizes were reduced where a specific observation was missing with resulting minimum sample sizes for statin use (n = 20 239), LDL cholesterol level (n = 21 461), calcium level (n = 14 437), lifetime physical activity (n = 13 802), calcification volume (n = 19 411), number of calcifications (n = 19 480), cardiorespiratory fitness (n = 18 564), V̇o2max (n = 18 564), maximum heart rate (n = 18 564), and heart rate recovery (n = 18 564).