Table 1. Baseline characteristics and fetuin-A levels of diabetes cases and matched controls, the Singapore Chinese Health Studya.
| Characteristic | Cases (n=558) | Controls (n=558) | P valueb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age at blood taken, yr | 59.6±6.11 | 59.7±6.18 | - |
| Female sex | 325 (58.2) | 325 (58.2) | - |
| Dialect | - | ||
| Cantonese | 280 (50.2) | 280 (50.2) | |
| Hokkien | 278 (49.8) | 278 (49.8) | |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 24.8±3.62 | 22.8±3.29 | <0.001 |
| Level of education | 0.226 | ||
| No formal education | 102 (18.3) | 96 (17.2) | |
| Primary school | 249 (44.6) | 227 (40.7) | |
| Secondary and above | 207 (37.1) | 235 (42.1) | |
| History of hypertension | 257 (46.1) | 145 (26.0) | <0.001 |
| Cigarette smoking | 0.162 | ||
| Never smokers | 400 (71.7) | 413 (74.0) | |
| Former smoker | 61 (10.9) | 70 (12.5) | |
| Current smokers | 97 (17.4) | 75 (13.4) | |
| Weekly moderate activity, hr/wk | 0.091 | ||
| <0.5 | 445 (79.8) | 444 (79.6) | |
| 0.5–3.9 | 82 (14.7) | 67 (12.0) | |
| ≥4 | 31 (5.6) | 47 (8.4) | |
| Alcohol intake | 0.838 | ||
| Abstainers | 486 (87.1) | 486 (87.1) | |
| Weekly drinkers | 54 (9.7) | 57 (10.2) | |
| Daily drinkers | 18 (3.2) | 15 (2.7) | |
| Fasting status (yes) | 171 (30.7) | 154 (27.6) | 0.263 |
| Fetuin-A, µg/mL | 711 (542–916) | 640 (490–844) | <0.001 |
| ALT, IU/L | 27 (20–37) | 20 (15–27) | <0.001 |
| TC, mmol/L | 5.30±0.95 | 5.20±0.84 | 0.067 |
| HDL-C, mmol/L | 1.08±0.24 | 1.23±0.32 | <0.001 |
| TG, mmol/L | 2.15 (1.45–2.94) | 1.54 (1.07–2.23) | <0.001 |
| Adiponectin, µg/mL | 7.02±2.70 | 9.08±3.78 | <0.001 |
| hs-CRP, mg/L | 1.80 (0.90–3.40) | 1.20 (0.60–2.30) | <0.001 |
| Random insulin, mIU/L | 14.6 (7.90–35.2) | 8.85 (4.40–21.6) | <0.001 |
| Random glucose, mmol/L | 6.00 (4.80–8.90) | 4.50 (4.10–5.30) | <0.001 |
| HbA1c, % | 6.40 (5.90–7.20) | 5.60 (5.40–5.80) | <0.001 |
| HbA1c, mmol/mol | 46.0 (41.0–55.0) | 38.0 (36.0–40.0) | <0.001 |
Values are presented as mean±standard deviation, number (%), or median (interquartile range).
ALT, alanine aminotransferase; TC, total cholesterol; HDL-C, high density lipoprotein cholesterol; TG, triglyceride; hs-CRP, high sensitivity C-reactive protein; HbA1c, glycosylated hemoglobin.
aCases and controls are matched on age at blood taken (±3 years), gender, dialect, and date of blood collection (±6 months), bP values based on the chi-square test for categorical variables, Student's t-test and Mann-Whitney test for continuous variable.