Characteristics of the combined ARIC and CHS cohorts
| Characteristic* | N | Mean±SD or N (%) |
| Total | 18497 | 18497 (100) |
| Study | 18497 | |
| ARIC | 14322 (77) | |
| CHS | 4175 (23) | |
| Age | 18497 | 58.1±9.6 |
| Sex | 18497 | |
| Female | 10764 (58) | |
| Male | 7733 (42) | |
| Race/ethnicity | 18497 | |
| Black | 4491 (24) | |
| Non-black | 14006 (76) | |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 18470 | 27.4±5.3 |
| Smoking status | 18471 | |
| Never | 7776 (42) | |
| Former | 6108 (33) | |
| Current | 4587 (25) | |
| Diabetes | 18336 | 2159 (12) |
| Hypertension | 18433 | 7145 (39) |
| LDL-cholesterol (mg/dl) | 17950 | 135.5±37.9 |
| HDL-cholesterol (mg/dl) | 18208 | 53.0±16.7 |
| Triglycerides (mg/dl) | 18008 | 125.5±62.9 |
| White blood cell count (×103/μl) | 18080 | 6.01.7 |
* Clinical variables not included because they were not predictive of CHD or SCD include education, family income, family history of cardiovascular disease, alcohol, asthma, cancer, intermittent claudication, physical activity, forced expiratory volume in 1 s, haematocrit value, haemoglobin, total calories, ankle brachial index, fasting glucose, insulin, creatinine, fibrinogen and uric acid.
ARIC, Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities; CHS, Cardiovascular Health Study; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; HDL, high-density lipoprotein.