Baseline clinical and laboratory characteristics of the study population according to TAC score quartiles
| All | Q1 (0–44) | Q2 (44-274) | Q3 (274–1067) | Q4 (1068–30 900) | P value | |
| n | 2412 | 604 | 602 | 603 | 603 | |
| Age, years | 69.1±9.2 | 62.6±6.6 | 66.6±7.7 | 70.3±8.2 | 76.5±8.0 | <0.001 |
| Male sex, n (%) | 1127 (47) | 300 (50) | 278 (46) | 281 (47) | 268 (44) | 0.329 |
| Race/ethnicity | <0.001 | |||||
| White, n (%) | 913 (38) | 234 (39) | 209 (35) | 211 (35) | 259 (43) | |
| Chinese American, n (%) | 320 (13) | 61 (10) | 64 (11) | 97 (16) | 98 (16) | |
| Black, n (%) | 638 (26) | 175 (29) | 182 (30) | 158 (26) | 123 (20) | |
| Hispanic, n (%) | 541 (22) | 134 (22) | 147 (24) | 137 (23) | 123 (20) | |
| Body Mass Index, kg/m2 | 28.4±5.5 | 28.8±5.5 | 28.9±5.7 | 28.3±5.4 | 27.7±5.3 | <0.001 |
| Smoking status | 0.003 | |||||
| Never, n (%) | 1120 (46) | 319 (53) | 282 (47) | 271 (45) | 248 (41) | |
| Former, n (%) | 1106 (46) | 236 (39) | 276 (46) | 286 (47) | 308 (51) | |
| Current, n (%) | 186 (8) | 49 (8) | 44 (7) | 46 (8) | 47 (8) | |
| Education | <0.001 | |||||
| Less than high school, n (%) | 333 (14) | 49 (8) | 77 (13) | 102 (17) | 105 (17) | |
| High school, n (%) | 1129 (47) | 268 (44) | 282 (47) | 266 (44) | 313 (52) | |
| Some college, n (%) | 442 (18) | 128 (21) | 117 (19) | 105 (17) | 92 (15) | |
| College and above, n (%) | 508 (21) | 159 (26) | 126 (21) | 130 (22) | 93 (15) | |
| Total cholesterol, mg/dL | 184.4±36.3 | 188.8±35.6 | 187.7±35.7 | 180.8±36.3 | 180.2±36.9 | <0.001 |
| HDL cholesterol, mg/dL | 55.9±16.7 | 55.7±17.4 | 56.0±17.0 | 55.9±16.6 | 56.2±16.0 | 0.962 |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 450 (19) | 101 (17) | 93 (15) | 123 (20) | 133 (22) | 0.010 |
| Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg | 123.7±20.1 | 117.7±17.7 | 122.0±19.9 | 123.9±19.0 | 131.0±21.4 | <0.001 |
| Lipid-lowering medications, n (%) | 891 (37) | 156 (26) | 196 (33) | 241 (40) | 298 (49) | <0.001 |
| Hypertensive medications, n (%) | 1291 (54) | 236 (39) | 294 (49) | 332 (55) | 429 (71) | <0.001 |
| CAC score | 30 (0, 212) | 0 (0, 30) | 12 (0, 102) | 50 (0, 229) | 219 (37, 682) | <0.001 |
Data are presented as mean±SD, number (%) or median (25th, 75th percentile).
CAC, coronary artery calcium; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; TAC, thoracic artery calcium.