Baseline characteristics of the participants with and without metabolic syndrome (MetS)
| Overall | Participants with MetS | Participants without MetS | P value* | |
| (n = 943) | (n =496) | (n =447) | ||
| Demographic and clinical characteristics | ||||
| Age, mean (SD), years | 55.6 (9.2) | 56.8 (9.2) | 54.3 (8.9) | <0.001 |
| Male, n (%) | 340 (36.1) | 163 (32.9) | 177 (39.6) | 0.03 |
| Current smoker, n (%) | 213 (22.7) | 99 (20.1) | 114 (25.6) | 0.04 |
| Body mass index, mean (SD) | 26.5 (3.7) | 28.1 (3.2) | 24.70 (3.4) | <0.001 |
| MetS-related characteristics | ||||
| Waist circumference, mean (SD), cm | 89.4 (10.6) | 94.5 (8.1) | 83.7 (10.0) | <0.001 |
| HDL-C, mean (SD), mmol/L | 1.3 (0.3) | 1.2 (0.2) | 1.4 (0.3) | <0.001 |
| Triglyceride, median (IQR), mmol/L | 1.3 (0.9, 1.9) | 1.8 (1.2, 2.5) | 1.0 (0.7, 1.3) | <0.001 |
| SBP, mean (SD), mm Hg | 132.5 (18.7) | 138.0 (18.0) | 126.3 (17.6) | <0.001 |
| DBP, mean (SD), mm Hg | 78.2 (10.5) | 80.3 (10.2) | 76.0 (10.3) | <0.001 |
| Fasting blood glucose, mean (SD), mmol/L | 6.1 (1.9) | 6.5 (2.2) | 5.6 (1.3) | <0.001 |
*Differences (p<0.05) between groups were compared using the t-test (for means), Mann-Whitney U test (for medians) and χ2 test (for percentages).
DBP, diastolic blood pressure; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; MetS, metabolic syndrome; SBP, systolic blood pressure.