Table 1.
Characteristics of the study population
| Characteristics | Female | Male | p value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 year follow-up | Age |
Mean in years (SD)* Range |
56.24 (6.5)* [39–65] |
56.9 (6.3)* | 55.1 (6.8)* | 0.003 |
| Sex, N (%) | Female | 352 (64) | ||||
| Male | 195 (36) | |||||
| Education level, N (%) | Primary | 27 (5) | 16 (4.5) | 11 (5.6) | 0.4 | |
| Trade school | 68 (12) | 41 (11.6) | 27 (13.8) | |||
| Secondary/High school | 227 (42) | 155 (44.1) | 72 (36.9) | |||
| College/University | 225 (41) | 140 (39.8) | 85 (43.7) | |||
| Living location, N (%) | Urban | 403 (74) | 255 (72.4) | 148 (75.9) | 0.4 | |
| Rural | 144 (26) | 97 (27.6) | 47 (24.1) | |||
| Cognitive functioning, N (%) | MoCA < 26 | 178 (33) | 117 (33.2) | 61 (31.3) | 0.7 | |
| MoCA mean score (SD)* | 26.29 (2.5)* | 26.21 (2.6)* | 26.43 (2.5)* | 0.3 | ||
| Brain pathology in structural MRI, N (%) | No brain pathology | 150 (27) | 79 (22.4) | 71 (36.4) | 0.002 | |
| Low WMH burden | 352 (64) | 241 (68.5) | 111 (56.9) | |||
| High WMH burden | 15 (3) | 12 (3.7) | 2 (1.1) | |||
| Lacunar infarcts | 16 (3) | 8 (2.3) | 8 (4.1) | |||
| Microbleeds | 14 (3) | 11 (3.1) | 3 (1.5) | |||
| Depressive symptoms | CES-d mean score (SD)* | 9.66 (8.0)* | 10.60 (8.7)* | 7.97 (6.3)* | 0.001 | |
| General activity | SAGE mean score (SD)* | 2.33 (2.9)* | 2.47 (3.1)* | 2.08 (2.4)* | 0.4 | |
| Baseline, 3 & 6 year follow-up | Hypertension, N (%) | No | 334 (61) | 126 (35.8) | 87 (44.6) | 0.05 |
| Yes | 213 (39) | 226 (64.2) | 108 (55.4) | |||
| Diabetes Mellitus, N (%) | No | 467 (86) | 46 (13.1) | 30 (15.4) | 0.5 | |
| Yes | 76 (14) | 306 (86.9) | 161 (82.6) | |||
| Hyperlipidaemia, N (%) | No | 206 (38) | 119 (34.0) | 87 (45.3) | 0.01 | |
| Yes | 336 (62) | 231 (66.0) | 105 (54.7) | |||
| Coronary heart disease, N (%) | No | 511 (93) | 330 (93.8) | 181 (92.8) | 0.8 | |
| Yes | 36 (7) | 22 (6.2) | 14 (7.2) | |||
| Smoking, N (%) | Current | 101 (18) | 72 (20.5) | 29 (14.9) | 0.02 | |
| Former | 185 (34) | 105 (29.8) | 80 (41.0) | |||
| Never | 261 (48) | 175 (49.7) | 86 (44.1) | |||
| Weight category, N (%) | Normal weight | 177 (33) | 122 (34.7) | 55 (28.5) | 0.3 | |
| Overweight | 149 (27) | 135 (38.4) | 84 (43.5) | |||
| Obese | 219 (40) | 95 (26.9) | 54 (28.0) | |||
| Alcohol intake, N (%) | No | 136 (25) | 106 (30.1) | 30 (15.4) | 0.0002 | |
| Yes | 411 (75) | 246 (69.9) | 165 (84.6) | |||
*data expressed in means and standard deviations (SD); Pearson chi-square test was used to assess gender differences in the qualitative variables and Mann-Whitney test to assess gender differences in the quantitative variables; Normal weight (BMI < 25), overweight (BMI 25.0–29.9), obese (BMI ≥30)