Table 1 Demographic characteristics of study participants

Age (years)

56.1 ± 9.1

54.3 ± 8.9

58.1 ± 8.8

61.4 ± 8.3

Male gender

205 (57.1%)

115 (51.6%)

58 (63.0%)

32 (72.7%)

BMI (kg/m²)

27.9 ± 4.8

26.5 ± 4.2

30.3 ± 4.6

30.2 ± 5.1

Systolic blood pressure (mmHg)

120.3 ± 16.9

116.5 ± 15.2

124.7 ± 15.5

130.1 ± 21.2

Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg)

75.3 ± 10.1

73.7 ± 9.2

78.0 ± 9.7

78.0 ± 13.2

Prehypertension

94 (26.2%)

61 (27.4%)

26 (28.3%)

7 (15.9%)

Hypertension

117 (32.6%)

45 (20.2%)

41 (44.6%)

31 (70.5%)

Fasting glucose (mmol/L)

5.7 ± 1.3

5.2 ± 0.4

5.9 ± 0.6

8.0 ± 2.3^a

Fasting insulin (pmol/L)

65.4 ± 41.1

51.6 ± 26.7

86.9 ± 44.6

91.7 ± 60.0^b

HbA1c (%)

5.6 ± 0.7

5.3 ± 0.3

5.6 ± 0.3

6.7 ± 1.4

Total cholesterol (mmol/L)

5.6 ± 1.0

5.6 ± 0.9

5.8 ± 0.8

5.5 ± 1.2

HDL cholesterol (mmol/L)

1.6 ± 0.5

1.7 ± 0.5

1.5 ± 0.4

1.4 ± 0.4

LDL cholesterol (mmol/L)

3.6 ± 0.9

3.6 ± 0.8

3.7 ± 0.8

3.5 ± 1.1

Triglycerides (mmol/L)

1.5 ± 1.0

1.2 ± 0.7

1.7 ± 1.0

2.3 ± 1.4

 Never-smoker

130 (36.2%)

88 (39.5%)

28 (30.4%)

14 (31.8%)

 Ex-smoker

156 (43.5%)

87 (39.0%)

46 (50.0%)

23 (52.3%)

 Smoker

73 (20.3%)

48 (21.5%)

18 (19.6%)

7 (15.9%)

Antihypertensive medication

85 (23.7%)

35 (15.7%)

28 (30.4%)

22 (50.0%)