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Table 1 Descriptive characteristics of the study population

From: Associations between vascular risk factors and subsequent Alzheimer’s disease in older adults

 

No. (%) of participants, vascular risk factors

 

Total (n = 178,586)

AD (n = 10,732)

Non-AD (n = 167,854)

P value

Sex*

   

< 0.0001

 Male

81,242 (45.5)

3742 (34.9)

77,500 (46.2)

 

 Female

97,344 (54.5)

6990 (65.1)

90,354 (53.8)

 

Age group*

   

< 0.0001

 65 to 69 years

23,471 (13.1)

74 (0.7)

23,397 (13.9)

 

 70 to 74 years

80,333 (45.0)

2352 (21.9)

77,981 (46.5)

 

 75 to 79 years

48,208 (27.0)

3898 (36.3)

44,310 (26.4)

 

 Older than 80 years

26,574 (14.9)

4408 (41.1)

22,166 (13.2)

 

Income, deciles*

   

< 0.0001

 Medical aid

1899 (1.1)

258 (2.4)

1641 (1.0)

 

 Low (1st–3rd decile)

36,433 (20.4)

2037 (19.0)

34,396 (20.5)

 

 Middle (4th–7th decile)

48,421 (27.1)

2832 (26.4)

45,589 (27.2)

 

 High (8th–10th decile)

91,833 (51.4)

5605 (52.2)

86,228 (51.4)

 

Lifestyles

 Smoking status*

   

< 0.0001

  Never smoking

130,940 (73.3)

8475 (79.0)

122,465 (73.0)

 

  Ex-smoking

26,613 (14.9)

1230 (11.5)

25,383 (15.1)

 

  Current smoking

21,033 (11.8)

1027 (9.6)

20,006 (11.9)

 

 Alcohol consumption*

   

< 0.0001

  Rarely (0–2 days/week)

158,170 (88.6)

9795 (91.3)

148,375 (88.4)

 

  Light (3–4 days/week)

9275 (5.2)

376 (3.5)

8899 (5.3)

 

  Heavy (5–7 days/week)

11,141 (6.2)

561 (5.2)

10,580 (6.3)

 

 Exercise*

   

< 0.0001

  No exercise

121,405 (68.0)

7795 (72.6)

113,610 (67.7)

 

  Exercise

57,181 (32.0)

2937 (27.4)

54,244 (32.3)

 

Comorbidities

 Depression*

14,075 (7.9)

1270 (11.8)

12,805 (7.6)

< 0.0001

 Charlson Comorbidity Index*

   

< 0.0001

  0

21,574 (12.1)

975 (9.1)

20,599 (12.3)

 

  1

40,912 (22.9)

2014 (18.8)

38,898 (23.2)

 

  ≥ 2

116,100 (65.0)

7743 (72.2)

108,357 (64.6)

 

Healthcare visit frequency*,†

   

< 0.0001

 First quartile

44,748 (25.1)

1904 (17.7)

42,844 (25.5)

 

 Second quartile

44,669 (25.0)

2325 (21.7)

42,344 (25.2)

 

 Third quartile

44,595 (25.0)

2751 (25.6)

41,844 (24.9)

 

 Fourth quartile

44,574 (25.0)

3752 (35.0)

40,822 (24.3)

 

Medication history*

 HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors

41,904 (23.5)

2611 (24.3)

39,293 (23.4)

0.029

 Antidiabetic medication

28,439 (15.9)

2056 (19.2)

26,383 (15.7)

< 0.0001

 Antihypertensive medication

106,098 (59.4)

6101 (62.4)

99,397 (59.2)

< 0.0001

 Antidepressants

10,318 (5.8)

1028 (9.6)

9290 (5.5)

< 0.0001

 Benzodiazepine and sleep pill

47,203 (26.4)

3835 (35.7)

43,368 (25.8)

< 0.0001

 Antiplatelet medication

50,994 (28.6)

3491 (32.5)

47,503 (28.3)

< 0.0001

Laboratory findings, mean (SD)

 Cholesterol level, mg/dL

  Total cholesterol

196.4 (38.4)

198.6 (39.3)

196.3 (38.4)

< 0.0001

  LDL-C

116.2 (35.3)

117.6 (35.8)

116.1 (35.2)

< 0.0001

  HDL-C

52.8 (13.4)

52.9 (13.7)

52.8 (13.4)

0.211

     Triglyceride

135.6 (68.6)

138.6 (69.9)

135.4 (68.5)

< 0.0001

 Fasting glucose, mg/dL

101.9 (21.0)

102.8 (22.3)

101.9 (20.9)

< 0.0001

 Hemoglobin, g/dL

13.3 (1.5)

13.0 (1.4)

13.3 (1.5)

< 0.0001

Physical examination findings, mean (SD)

 Systolic blood pressure, mmHg

130.3 (15.9)

130.4 (16.4)

130.3 (15.9)

0.534

 Diastolic blood pressure, mmHg

78.0 (9.8)

78.1 (10.1)

78.1 (9.8)

0.728

 Body mass index, kg/m2

23.8 (3.1)

23.5 (3.2)

23.8 (3.1)

< 0.0001

  1. *Group comparisons by chi-squared tests
  2. The fourth quartile group had the highest frequency of medical visits
  3. Group comparisons by T tests