TABLE 1.
Baseline characteristics of participants by sex.
| Characteristics | Total (5,343) | Female (2,805) | Male (2,538) | P-value * |
| Demographic | ||||
| Age (years) | 52.2 ± 11.6 | 51.9 ± 11.2 | 52.5 ± 11.9 | 0.04 |
| Clinical | ||||
| Body-mass index, kg/m2 | 26 (23.6–28.8) | 25.5 (23–28.8) | 26.3 (24.1– 28.7) | <0.001 |
| Systolic blood pressure, mmHg | 122 (112–134) | 117 (108– 130) | 127 (117– 138) | <0.001 |
| Prevalent type 2 diabetes mellitus (n, %) | 264 (5) | 123 (4.4) | 141 (5.6) | 0.05 |
| Alcoholic behavior | ||||
| No | 1,269 (24) | 850 (30.5) | 419 (16.7) | <0.001 |
| 1–4 units/mo (n, %) | 916 (17.3) | 548 (19.7) | 368 (14.7) | |
| 2–7 units/wk (n, %) | 1,716 (32.4) | 835 (30) | 881 (35.1) | |
| 1–3 units/d (n, %) | 1,170 (22.1) | 493 (17.7) | 677 (27) | |
| ≥ 4 units/d (n, %) | 225 (4.2) | 59 (2.1) | 166 (6.6) | |
| Smoking behavior | ||||
| Never | 1,625 (30.8) | 931 (33.2) | 694 (27.3) | <0.001 |
| Former | 2,182 (41.3) | 1,066 (38) | 1,116 (44) | |
| Current | 1,473 (27.9) | 778 (27.7) | 695 (27.4) | |
| Use of antihypertensive drugs (n, %) | 885 (16.6) | 467 (16.7) | 418 (16.5) | 0.88 |
| Use of lipid-lowering drugs (n, %) | 341 (6.4) | 181 (6.5) | 160 (6.3) | 0.83 |
| Laboratory | ||||
| Plasma NT-proBNP, ng/L | 38 (20–71) | 51 (30.5–85) | 25 (13–47.3) | <0.001 |
| Total cholesterol, mmol/l | 5.4 (4.7–6.1) | 5.4 (4.7– 6.1) | 5.4 (4.8– 6.1) | 0.21 |
| eGFR, ml/min per 1.73 m2 | 92.9 (79.4–108.2) | 106.2 (94– 115.4) | 81.1 (70.5– 90.5) | <0.001 |
| High-sensitivity C-reactive protein, mg/l | 1.2 (0.6–2.6) | 1.3 (0.6– 2.9) | 1.1 (0.6– 2.4) | <0.001 |
| TSAT (%) | 24.3 (19.1–30.5) | 23.1 (17.5– 28.8) | 26.1 (21–32.4) | <0.001 |
| Serum ferritin, μg/L | 94 (46–168) | 58 (29– 108) | 143 (86– 226) | <0.001 |
| Serum hepcidin, nmol/l | 3 (1.6–4.8) | 2.3 (1.1 –4) | 3.8 (2.4– 5.5) | <0.001 |
| Plasma sTfR, mg/l | 2.4 (2.1–2.9) | 2.4 (2– 3) | 2.5 (2.1– 2.9) | 0.13 |
| Hemoglobin, g/dl | 13.7 (12.9–14.5) | 13 (12.4–13.5) | 14.5 (13.9–15.1) | <0.001 |
| Iron status | ||||
| Absolute iron deficiency | 379 (7.1) | 288 (10.3) | 91 (3.6) | <0.001 |
| Normal group | 4,482 (83.9) | 2,425 (86.5) | 2,057 (81) | |
| Iron overload | 482 (9) | 92 (3.3) | 390 (15.4) |
Data are presented as mean ± SD or median (interquartile range) for continuous variables and number (%) for categorical variables.
NT-proBNP, indicates N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; TSAT, transferrin saturation; and sTfR, soluble transferrin receptor.
*Comparison between sex with independent-samples T-Test, Mann-Whitney U test, and chi-squared test.