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. 2020 Dec 21;4(24):6353–6363. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2020003323

Table 1.

Baseline characteristics, CVD history, and all-cause mortality of the study cohort

General Lifelines population (n = 146 759) Individuals with erythrocytosis (strict criteria) (n = 408) P
Male/female, % 41.6/58.4 45.4/54.7 .13
Age, y 44.8 ± 13.1 51.5 ± 13.1 <.001
BMI, kg/m2 26.1 ± 4.3 27.9 ± 4.9 <.001
Systolic BP, mm Hg 125 ± 15 135 ± 17 <.001
Diastolic BP, mm Hg 74 ± 9 78 ± 10 <.001
Creatinine, µmol/L 73.5 ± 13.7 77.7 ± 15.6 <.001
Number of medications used 1 (0-2) 1 (0-3) <.001
Use of antihypertensive drugs, % 12.5 24.0 <.001
Use of drugs for obstructive airway diseases, % 7.0 11.0 .001
Use of androgens, % 0.1 0.5 .004
Current smokers, % 20.7 38.2 <.001
Diabetes, % 3.4 7.8 <.001
Metabolic syndrome, % 17.3 35.7 <.001
Family history of CVD, % 8.9 18.2 <.001
Hb, g/dL
 Male 15.1 ± 0.9 17.9 ± 0.6 <.001
 Female 13.4 ± 0.9 16.2 ± 0.7 <.001
Hct, %
 Male 44.7 ± 2.5 52.9 ± 1.4 <.001
 Female 40.5 ± 2.5 49.0 ± 1.8 <.001
MCV, fL 89.9 ± 4.2 92.2 ± 4.3 <.001
Leukocytes, ×109/L 6.1 ± 1.8 7.4 ± 2.1 <.001
Leukocytosis, % 3.0 10.0 <.001
Platelets, ×109/L 250 ± 57 245 ± 74 .096
Thrombocytosis, % 1.2 2.2 <.001
Fasting glucose, mmol/L 5.0 ± 0.8 5.2 ± 1.0 <.001
HbA1c, % 5.5 ± 0.5 5.6 ± 0.5 <.001
Total cholesterol, mmol/L 5.1 ± 1.0 5.6 ± 1.2 <.001
LDL cholesterol, mmol/L 3.2 ± 0.9 3.7 ± 1.1 <.001
HDL cholesterol, mmol/L
 Male 1.3 ± 0.3 1.3 ± 0.3 .016
 Female 1.6 ± 0.4 1.5 ± 0.4 .001
Triglycerides, mmol/L 1.2 ± 0.8 1.5 ± 0.9 <.001
Thrombosis, % 1.7 4.2 <.001
Stroke, % 0.6 0.5 .24
Myocardial infarction, % 1.2 3.4 <.001
Composite cardiovascular events, % 3.3 8.6 <.001
Antithrombotic agent use, %
 Vitamin K antagonists 0.9 3.4 <.001
 Platelet aggregation inhibitors 3.2 8.6 <.001
 Direct factor Xa inhibitors 0.0 0.0 .83
All-cause mortality, % 1.9 6.4 <.001

Data are given as mean ± standard deviation, median (interquartile range) when not normally distributed, or percentage. Leukocytosis was defined as leukocytes ≥10 × 109/L. Thrombocytosis was defined as a platelet count ≥400 × 109/L.

BP, blood pressure; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; HbA1c, glycated hemoglobin.