Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the study populations
| Variable | Prevalent MetS | Incident MetS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KORA (n = 998) | HUNT (n = 923) | p value* | KORA (n = 623) | |
| Agea (years) | 59.3 (43–75) | 68.93 (31.6–91.7) | < 0.001 | 58.15 (43–74) |
| Sex femaleb | 515 (51.6%) | 235 (25.5%) | < 0.001 | 379 (60.8%) |
| BMIc (kg/m2) | 27.77 (4.58) | 28.39 (3.97) | 0.002 | 26.21 (3.87) |
| Waist circumferencec (cm) | 94.56 (14.05) | 100.18 (11.04) | < 0.001 | 89.07 (11.44) |
| Waist hip ratioc | 0.89 (0.08) | 0.96 (0.07) | < 0.001 | 0.86 (0.08) |
| Physically activeb | 620 (62.1%) | 468 (50.7%) | < 0.001 | 416 (66.8%) |
| Smokingb | < 0.001 | |||
| Never smoker | 423 (42.4%) | 231 (25%) | 277 (44.5%) | |
| Former smoker | 427 (42.8%) | 497 (53.8%) | 244 (39.2%) | |
| Current smoker | 148 (14.8%) | 195 (21.1%) | 102 (16.4%) | |
| Total cholesterolc (mg/dl) | 221.99 (38.47) | 178.50 (42.34) | NA** | 222.83 (37.11) |
| HDL- cholesterolc (mg/dl) | 57.35 (15.19) | 45.05 (11.25) | NA** | 62.84 (14.45) |
| Triglyceride levelc (mg/dl) | 129.06 (87.68) | 161.82 (86.81) | NA** | 96.59 (46.08) |
| Hypertensiond | 398 (39.9%) | 382 (41.4%) | 0.544 | 143 (23.0%) |
*Continuous variables were tested for a difference between the two populations using t-tests and categorical variables with chi-square tests with continuity correction, **Differences between cohorts could not be statistically tested as KORA was measured in fasting samples and HUNT in non-fasting samples
aMean (range)
bNumber (percentage)
cMean ± standard deviation. Hypertension was defined as having systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mmHg and diastolic ≥ 90 mmHg or known medication-controlled hypertension. In HUNT we additionally used the ICD-10 codes I10–I15 of the hospital and primary care data and the codes K86 or K87 of the International Classification of Primary Care, Second Edition, to identify participants with hypertension