Table 1.
Participants’ characteristics.
| Young | Aged | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | Male | Female | Male | |
| Participants, n (%) | 32 (21.3) | 41 (27.3) | 37 (24.7) | 40 (26.7) |
| Anthropometry, mean ± SD | ||||
| Age (years) | 25.1 ± 2.3 | 25.1 ± 2.8 | 74.0 ± 2.4 | 73.9 ± 2.5 |
| Body mass (kg) | 60.5 ± 9.0 | 76.7 ± 9.5 | 61.8 ± 7.5 | 74.9 ± 8.3 |
| Body fat mass (%) | 23.1 ± 6.9 | 14.7 ± 5.3 | 30.4 ± 7.5 | 24.3 ± 6.1 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 21.5 ± 2.9 | 23.7 ± 2.3 | 23.5 ± 3.0 | 24.9 ± 2.6 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 111 ± 8 | 126 ± 10 | 137 ± 12 | 133 ± 13 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 71 ± 8 | 71 ± 7 | 80 ± 8 | 82 ± 8 |
| Smoking status, n (%) | ||||
| Never smoked | 31 (97) | 40 (98) | 26 (70) | 21 (52) |
| Ex-smokers (quit > 10 years ago) | 1 (3) | 1 (2) | 11 (30) | 19 (48) |
| Physical activity (PA) levels, mean ± SD | ||||
| Daily total PA (min) | 282.3 ± 56.1 | 274.7 ± 69.3 | 257.2 ± 87.3 | 237.7 ± 75.2 |
| Daily moderate-to-vigorous PA (min) | 190.7 ± 45.1 | 186.7 ± 53.1 | 142.4 ± 63.0 | 140.8 ± 55.3 |
| Biochemical parameters, mean ± SD | ||||
| Fasting time prior to blood sampling (h) | 6.0 ± 1.6 | 5.6 ± 2.0 | 6.6 ± 3.7 | 7.4 ± 4.5 |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/L) | 4.96 ± 0.78 | 4.68 ± 0.95 | 6.49 ± 0.80 | 5.96 ± 1.11 |
| LDL-C (mmol/L) | 2.62 ± 0.48 | 2.52 ± 0.56 | 3.56 ± 0.59 | 3.40 ± 0.73 |
| HDL-C (mmol/L) | 1.81 ± 0.42 | 1.43 ± 0.24 | 1.91 ± 0.35 | 1.58 ± 0.33 |
| Triglycerides (mmol/L) | 1.08 ± 0.53 | 1.33 ± 0.80 | 1.41 ± 1.06 | 1.35 ± 0.45 |
| HbA1c (%) | 5.0 ± 0.2 | 5.0 ± 0.2 | 5.4 ± 0.3 | 5.3 ± 0.3 |
| Cardiovascular medications, n (%) | ||||
| Antihypertensives | 0 (0) | 0(0) | 9 (16) | 19 (35) |
| Low-dose aspirin | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 2 (5) | 4 (10) |
| Statins | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 3 (8) | 6 (15) |
| Hormonal medications, n (%) | ||||
| Oestrogen/HRT | 4 (13) | 0 (0) | 5 (14) | 0 (0) |
| 5α-reductase inhibitors | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 4 (10) |
| Thyroid hormones | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 3 (8) | 3 (8) |
| Psychiatric medications, n (%) | ||||
| Antidepressants | 1 (3) | 1 (2) | 1 (3) | 0 (0) |
| Z-drugs | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 3 (8) | 0 (0) |
| Other medications, n (%) | 3 (9) | 6 (12) | 31 (49) | 24 (42) |
Abbreviations: LDL-C = low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, HDL-C = low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, HbA1c = glycated hemoglobin, HRT = hormone replacement therapy, Z-drugs = nonbenzodiazepine benzodiazepine receptor agonists. Other drugs include: vitamins (19), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (8), proton-pump inhibitors (7), topical ophthalmic drugs (7), antihistamines (4), tamsulosin (3), melatonin (2), anthocyanosides of vaccinium myrtillus (1), clindamycin (1), fluticasone/salmeterol (1), fluticasone/vilanterol (1), ibandronate (1), mesalazine (1), mometasone (1), paracetamol (1), prednisolone (1), pregabalin (1), tiotropium (1), zoledronate (1).