Table 1.
Characteristics of the study sample stratified by sex (N = 15,010)
| Men (N = 7584) | Women (N = 7426) | All (N = 15,010) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | |||
| Age—years | 55.3 ± 11.1 | 54.8 ± 11.1 | 55.0 ± 11.1 |
| Physical activity** | 7.38 ± 4.32 | 7.35 ± 3.61 | 7.37 ± 4.00 |
| Heart rate—beats per minute | 68.0 ± 11.1 | 70.0 ± 10.5 | 69.0 ± 10.8 |
| Height—cm | 177 ± 7 | 164 ± 7 | 170 ± 10 |
| Waist-to-height ratio# | 0.56 ± 0.07 | 0.55 ± 0.09 | 0.56 ± 0.08 |
| Postmenopausal status—no. (%) | – | 5,015 (67.7) | 5,015 (33.4) |
| Hormone replacement therapy—no. (%) | – | 806 (10.9) | 806 (5.4) |
| Intake of oral contraceptives—no. (%) | – | 448 (6.1) | 448 (3.0) |
| Alcohol consumption above tolerable limit—no. (%)‡ | 1888 (25.0) | 1476 (19.9) | 3364 (22.5) |
| Socioeconomic status† | 13.59 ± 4.62 | 12.16 ± 4.21 | 12.89 ± 4.48 |
| Depression—no. (%)§ | 450 (6.1) | 683 (9.4) | 1,133 (7.7) |
| Smoking | |||
| Current smoking | 1,576 (20.8) | 1,335 (18.0) | 2,911 (19.4) |
| Pack-years (among current smokers) | 22.0 (9.90/36.0) | 16.0 (7.20/26.2) | 18.7 (8.40/31.8) |
| Years since quitting (among former smokers) | 18.0 (8.00/30.0) | 17.0 (7.00/28.0) | 18.0 (8.00/29.0) |
| Passive smoking—no. (%) (among never and former smokers) | 994 (13.1) | 892 (12.0) | 1886 (12.6) |
| Smoked < 12 h prior to examination—no. (%) | 1145 (15.1) | 1001 (13.5) | 2146 (14.3) |
| Traditional cardiovascular risk factors—no. (%) | |||
| Arterial hypertension | 4142 (54.6) | 3324 (44.8) | 7466 (49.8) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 863 (11.4) | 532 (7.2) | 1395 (9.3) |
| Dyslipidemia | 3257 (43.1) | 1919 (25.9) | 5176 (34.6) |
| Family history of myocardial infarction or stroke | 1532 (20.2) | 1789 (24.1) | 3321 (22.1) |
| Cardiovascular comorbidities—no. (%) | |||
| Congestive heart failure | 728 (9.6) | 424 (5.7) | 1,152 (7.7) |
| Coronary artery disease | 484 (6.5) | 157 (2.1) | 641 (4.3) |
| Myocardial infarction | 339 (4.5) | 103 (1.4) | 442 (3.0) |
| Stroke | 182 (2.4) | 97 (1.3) | 279 (1.9) |
| Atrial fibrillation | 1,025 (13.5) | 1,679 (22.6) | 2,704 (18.0) |
| Peripheral artery disease | 277 (3.7) | 227 (3.1) | 504 (3.3) |
| Measurements of arterial stiffness | |||
| Stiffness index—m/s | 8.35 ± 2.32 | 6.66 ± 1.69 | 7.54 ± 2.21 |
| Augmentation index—% | 11.39 ± 18.48 | 23.73 ± 20.60 | 17.41 ± 20.49 |
| Medication—no. (%)§§ | |||
| Diabetic drugs (A10) | 594 (7.9) | 331 (4.5) | 925 (6.2) |
| Antithrombotic agents (B01) | 1,191 (15.9) | 658 (8.9) | 1,849 (12.4) |
| Antihypertensive drugs (C02) | 83 (1.1) | 72 (1.0) | 155 (1.0) |
| Diuretics (C03) | 393 (5.2) | 397 (5.4) | 790 (5.3) |
| Beta-blockers (C07) | 1,313 (17.5) | 1,224 (16.6) | 2,537 (17.1) |
| Calcium channel blocker (C08) | 619 (8.3) | 470 (6.4) | 1,089 (7.3) |
| Agents acting on the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (C09) | 2,054 (27.4) | 1,489 (20.2) | 3,543 (23.8) |
| Lipid modifying agents (C10) | 1,175 (15.7) | 809 (11.0) | 1,984 (13.4) |
Plus-minus values are means ± standard deviation and two values in parentheses are medians with 25th and 75th percentiles
**Physical activity score was calculated by multiplying total minutes of activity by the intensity score displayed per 1000 units with higher values indicating higher physical activity
#Waist-to-height ratio is the waist circumference divided by the body height in centimeters
‡Alcohol consumption above tolerable limit denotes > 24 g per day for men and > 12 g per day for women
†Socioeconomic status score ranges from 3 to 21 with higher values indicating higher status
§Caseness of depression was indicated by a PHQ-9 score ≥ 10
§§Medication is labelled with the anatomical therapeutic chemical code