Table 2

Baseline characteristics of the study subjects (N = 413)

Variables
Men (n = 231)
Women (n = 182)
p for differencea


No. (%) of subjects


Ethnicity


.12
     Hispanic
65 (38.1)
48 (26.4)

     Non-Hispanic white
135 (58.5)
99 (54.4)

     Black
11 (4.8)
15 (8.2)

     Asian
10 (4.3)
18 (9.9)

     Other
10 (4.3)
2 (1.1)

Smoking status


.005
     Current smokers
76 (32.9)
39 (21.4)

     Former smokers
67 (29.0)
50 (27.4)

     Never smokers
88 (38.1)
93 (51.2)



Mean ± SD


Age (yr)
49.3 ± 4.5
51.9 ± 4.5
<.0001
Body height (m)
1.76 ± .07
1.61 ± .07
<.0001
Body mass index (kg/m2)
29.0 ± 4.9
28.0 ± 6.3
.002
Mean IMTb(μm)
708.8 ± 96.3
682.1 ± 88.0
<.0001
Echogenic layer
364.4 ± 98.1
331.0 ± 67.8
<0.0001
Echogenic layer (% IMT)
44.5 ± 7.4
42.6 ± 7.1
0.0093
Echolucent layer
362.9 ± 83.9
367.9 ± 91.5
0.78
Echolucent layer (% IMT)
50.0 ± 9.3
52.3 ± 9.4
0.01

a p values for categorical variables were based on x2 analysis; p values for continuous variables were based on ANOVA.

b IMT, carotid artery intima-media thickness

Fan et al. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders 2006 6:42   doi:10.1186/1471-2261-6-42