Table 1. Characteristics of study participants at the baseline examination for the cross-sectional and prospective analyses.
| Cross-sectional sample | Prospective sample | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men (n = 1310) | Women (n = 1604) | Men (n = 683) | Women (n = 973) | |
| Clinical characteristics | ||||
| Age, years | 58 ± 10 | 58 ± 10 | 56 ± 10 | 56 ± 9 |
| Smoking, N (%) | 185 (14) | 237 (15) | 97 (14) | 141 (15) |
| Hypertension, N (%) | 534 (41) | 565 (35) | 167 (24) | 183 (19) |
| Diabetes, N (%) | 115 (9) | 100 (6) | 17 (2) | 5 (0.5) |
| Metabolic Syndrome, N (%) | 568 (43) | 575 (36) | N/A | N/A |
| Abdominal obesity, N (%) | 607 (46) | 961 (60) | 180 (26) | 401 (41) |
| Elevated BP, N (%) | 766 (58) | 768 (48) | 268 (39) | 277 (28) |
| Elevated triglycerides, N (%) | 475 (36) | 515 (32) | 89 (13) | 113 (12) |
| Low HDL cholesterol, N (%) | 493 (38) | 483 (30) | 112 (16) | 133 (14) |
| Elevated fasting glucose, N (%) | 653 (50) | 493 (31) | 212 (31) | 96 (10) |
| Laboratory Values | ||||
| BMI, kg/m2 | 28.5 ± 4.4 | 27.2 ± 5.6 | 27.0 ± 3.7 | 25.2 ± 4.2 |
| Waist circumference, cm | 101 ± 11 | 94 ± 15 | 97 ± 9 | 88 ± 12 |
| SBP, mmHg | 130 ± 17 | 126 ± 20 | 124.4 ± 16.0 | 120 ± 17 |
| DBP, mmHg | 78 ± 9 | 74 ± 9 | 75.9 ± 8.6 | 72 ± 9 |
| Fasting glucose, mg/dL | 105 ± 24 | 99 ± 23 | 98.6 ± 17.3 | 91 ± 9 |
| Triglycerides, mg/dL | 131 ± 68 | 125 ± 64 | 104 ± 48 | 100 ± 48 |
| Total cholesterol, mg/dL | 200 ± 35 | 211 ± 38 | 200 ± 34 | 207 ± 38 |
| HDL cholesterol, mg/dL | 45 ± 12 | 59 ± 16 | 49 ± 12 | 64 ± 15 |
| eGFR, mL/min | 87 ± 17 | 85 ± 19 | 87 ± 16 | 87 ± 18 |
| ADMA, μmol/L | 0.55 ± 0.12 | 0.54 ± 0.13 | 0.54 ± 0.12 | 0.53 ± 0.13 |
| SDMA, μmol/L | 0.40 ± 0.10 | 0.39 ± 0.09 | 0.40 ± 0.09 | 0.38 ± 0.09 |
| L-arginine, μmol/L | 79.8 ± 21.1 | 77.9 ± 20.4 | 79.5 ± 20.6 | 78.4 ± 21.2 |
| Arg/ADMA | 150.6 ± 45.3 | 149.2 ± 43.8 | 152.4 ± 44.7 | 152.9 ± 44.0 |
Data are displayed as means ± standard deviation or frequency and percent (parentheses). Hypertension is defined as SBP/DBP of ≥140/90 or use of anti-hypertension medication. Abdominal obesity is defined among men as a waist circumference ≥102 cm, and among women as a waist circumference ≥89 cm. Elevated BP is defined as SBP/DBP ≥ 130/85 or use of anti-hypertension medication. Elevated triglycerides are defined as ≥150 mg/dL or use of lipid-lowering medication. Low HDL is defined as <40mg/dL for men and <50mg/dL for women. Elevated fasting glucose is defined as fasting glucose ≥100mg/dL or use of anti-hyperglycemic medication.