Baseline characteristics of the subjects according to quintiles of waist-to-height ratio
| Quintiles of waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) | p Value* | |||||
| <0.51 | ⩽0.51–<0.54 | ⩽0.54–<0.56 | ⩽0.56–<0.60 | ⩽0.60 | ||
| Number of subjects | 2011 | 1889 | 1958 | 1952 | 1950 | |
| Age (years) | 54.3 (2.8) | 54.7 (2.8) | 54.8 (2.9) | 55.1 (2.9) | 55.4 (2.9) | <0.0001 |
| Weight (kg) | 70.4 (8.8) | 75.4 (8.1) | 78.5 (8.6) | 82.0 (8.7) | 90.4 (11.7) | <0.0001 |
| WC (cm) | 82 (5) | 90 (3) | 94 (4) | 99 (4) | 108 (7) | <0.0001 |
| Height (cm) | 175 (7) | 173 (6) | 173 (6) | 172 (6) | 171 (6) | <0.0001 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 23.0 (2.0) | 25.0 (1.7) | 26.2 (1.7) | 27.7 (1.8) | 31.0 (3.1) | <0.0001 |
| School duration (years) | 12.2 (3.7) | 11.8 (3.4) | 11.5 (3.5) | 11.0 (3.2) | 10.4 (3.3) | <0.0001 |
| Tobacco (n) (%) | <0.0001 | |||||
| Never smokers | 683 (34) | 579 (31) | 577 (29) | 555 (28) | 488 (25) | |
| Ex-smokers | 663 (33) | 768 (41) | 876 (44) | 915 (47) | 975 (50) | |
| Current Smokers | 665 (33) | 542 (29) | 518 (26) | 482 (25) | 487 (25) | |
| Alcohol intake (n) (%) | <0.0001 | |||||
| Abstinent | 474 (24) | 361 (19) | 304 (16) | 262 (13) | 241 (12) | |
| <40 ml/day | 907 (45) | 906 (48) | 889 (45) | 835 (43) | 802 (41) | |
| ⩾40 ml/day | 630 (31) | 622 (33) | 765 (39) | 855 (44) | 907 (46) | |
| Physical activity (n (%) | <0.0001 | |||||
| No activity | 219 (11) | 216 (11) | 234 (12) | 255 (13) | 383 (20) | |
| Moderate activity | 1196 (59) | 1091 (58) | 1153 (59) | 1182 (61) | 1141 (58) | |
| Regular activity | 596 (29) | 579 (31) | 570 (29) | 514 (26) | 425 (22) | |
| Diabetics (n (%) | 39 (1.9) | 39 (2.1) | 53 (2.7) | 80 (4.1) | 113 (5.8) | <0.0001 |
| Systolic BP (mm Hg) | 126 (17) | 131 (18) | 133 (18) | 136 (18) | 142 (19) | <0.0001 |
| Diastolic BP (mm Hg) | 79 (11) | 82 (10) | 83 (11) | 86 (11) | 89 (12) | <0.0001 |
| LDL-C (g/l) | 1.40 (0.34) | 1.46 (0.34) | 1.45 (0.33) | 1.46 (0.33) | 1.44 (0.35) | <0.0001 |
| HDL-C (g/l) | 0.53 (0.14) | 0.49 (0.13) | 0.49 (0.13) | 0.47 (0.12) | 0.46 (0.12) | <0.0001 |
| Triglycerides (g/l) | 1.22 (0.74) | 1.35 (0.78) | 1.45 (0.90) | 1.59 (1.16) | 1.80 (1.23) | <0.0001 |
Values are means (SD) for continuous variables and number of subjects (%) for categorical variables.
*ANOVA or χ2.
BMI, body mass; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol; WC, waist circumference.