Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of the study population according to the first event of cardiovascular diseases (CVD).
| Variables | Men | Women | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The First Event of CVD | The Frst Event of CVD | |||
| No | Yes | No | Yes | |
| N = 1778 | N = 298 | N = 2021 | N = 160 | |
| Mean age, years (SD) | 59.2 (7.6) | 62.5 (7.2) *** | 58.6 (7.7) | 63.6 (6.8) *** |
| Metabolic syndrome (%) | 20.9 | 29.5 *** | 29.4 | 44.4 *** |
| Mean metabolic syndrome components (SD) | 1.7 (1.1) | 2.0 (1.2) *** | 1.9 (1.4) | 2.4 (1.3) *** |
| Increased waist circumference (%) (for men ≥102 cm; for women ≥88 cm) |
23.1 | 35.2 *** | 46.4 | 60.6 *** |
| Elevated triglycerides level (%) (≥1.7 mmol/L) |
23.1 | 29.9 ** | 22.4 | 30.6 * |
| Low HDL cholesterol level (%) (for men <1.0 mmol/L, for women <1.3 mmol/L) |
9.4 | 13.1 * | 19.9 | 35.0 *** |
| Increased fasting glucose level (%) (≥6.1 mmol/L) |
27.4 | 28.9 | 28.4 | 25.6 |
| Arterial hypertension (%) (>130/85 mm Hg) |
82.3 | 89.6 *** | 68.7 | 83.8 *** |
| Smoking status (%) | ||||
| Never | 41.3 | 32.2 ** | 81.4 | 85.6 |
| Former | 27.1 | 31.2 | 7.0 | 3.8 |
| Current | 31.6 | 36.6 | 11.6 | 10.6 |
| Physically active (%) | 69.1 | 67.1 | 82.5 | 83.1 |
| Education level (%) | ||||
| Primary | 5.4 | 10.7 ** | 5.2 | 13.8 ** |
| Vocational | 8.6 | 15.8 *** | 7.7 | 10.0 |
| Secondary | 32.3 | 28.5 | 24.5 | 22.5 |
| College | 18.8 | 15.8 | 27.6 | 30.6 |
| University | 34.9 | 29.2 | 35.0 | 23.1 ** |
| Nutrition factors (%) | ||||
| 1st “Fresh vegetables and fruits” | 49.5 | 48.0 | 60.2 | 49.4 ** |
| 2nd “Increased consumption of meat and low cereals” | 66.1 | 61.7 | 37.0 | 31.9 |
| 3rd “Sweets” | 51.0 | 42.6 ** | 53.6 | 56.3 |
| 4th “Boiled vegetables and potatoes” | 55.5 | 54.7 | 45.7 | 45.0 |
| 5th “Chicken, fish, and eggs” | 58.2 | 60.4 | 46.7 | 48.1 |
Mean (SD) follow-up for men was 8.46 (2.51) years; for women, it was 9.06 (1.85) years. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001, compared to those who did not have CVD event.