Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics of the Total Study Population and the Subcohort
| Characteristics, 1991–1994 | MDCS‐CV Cohort, N = 6,103, Mean ± SD or n (%) | BioFINDER Subcohort, n = 330, Mean ± SD or n (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Age, yr | 57.5 ± 5.9 | 53.8 ± 4.6 |
| Women | 3,531 (57.9) | 198 (60.0) |
| APOE ε4 carrier | 1,704 (29.9) | 92 (28.1) |
| Primary/elementary school, ≤8 years | 2,676 (46.3) | 79 (24.2) |
| Secondary school/high school, 9–12 years | 1,982 (34.3) | 143 (43.9) |
| Higher education/university, ≥13 years | 1,123 (19.4) | 104 (31.9) |
| Systolic blood pressure, mmHg | 141 ± 19.1 | 133 ± 16 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 25.8 ± 4.0 | 24.8 ± 3.5 |
| Ever smoker | 3,535 (61.1) | 194 (59.2) |
| Diabetes | 290 (4.8) | 7 (2.1) |
| Stroke | 45 (0.7) | 0 (0) |
| Blood pressure–lowering medication | 1,010 (16.5) | 31 (9.4) |
| Lipid‐lowering medication | 141 (2.3) | 3 (0.9) |
| IMT, mm | 0.77 ± 0.16 | 0.73 ± 0.13 |
| Carotid plaque, any | 3,577 (61.2) | 144 (44.7) |
| Carotid plaque score | ||
| 0 | 2,272 (38.8) | 178 (55.3) |
| 1 | 2,350 (40.2) | 117 (36.3) |
| 2 | 1,227 (21.0) | 27 (8.4) |
Stroke and diabetes data were obtained from hospital registers. Education level, smoking habits, and medication use were self‐reported and were obtained from the baseline questionnaire. The BioFINDER cohort was derived from the total cohort.
IMT = intima media thickness; MDCS‐CV = Malmö Diet and Cancer Study–cardiovascular cohort; SD = standard deviation.