Select baseline characteristics of participants in the Whitehall II study cohort aged 45–69 at start of follow-up (1997–1999)
| Characteristic | Status at end of follow-up (June 2015); % of patients or mean ± SD at baseline | Standardized difference* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alive n = 5809 | Deceased n = 736 | ||
| Age, yr | 55.2 ± 5.9 | 59.6 ± 5.8 | 0.75 |
| Male | 70.9 | 71.1 | 0.00 |
| Low socioeconomic status | 13.2 | 17.9 | 0.13 |
| Current smoker | 9.0 | 16.1 | 0.22 |
| Units of alcohol consumed weekly | 13.6 ± 15.0 | 14.8 ± 18.9 | 0.07 |
| Inactive† | 8.1 | 8.5 | 0.02 |
| Daily consumption of fruits and vegetables | 73.8 | 69.7 | −0.09 |
| BMI | 26.1 ± 3.9 | 26.7 ± 4.6 | 0.16 |
| History of CVD (CAD or stroke) | 5.4 | 13.2 | 0.27 |
| History of diabetes | 5.6 | 12.5 | 0.24 |
| History of cancer | 2.3 | 5.0 | 0.14 |
| History of COPD | 7.5 | 11.9 | 0.15 |
| Inflammatory biomarker (standardized values)‡ | |||
| AGP | −0.02 (0.99) | 0.20 (1.05) | 0.22 |
| IL-6 | −0.05 (0.98) | 0.42 (1.04) | 0.47 |
| CRP | −0.03 (0.99) | 0.27 (1.03) | 0.30 |
Note: AGP = α1-acid glycoprotein, BMI = body mass index, CAD = coronary artery disease, COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, CRP = C-reactive protein, CVD = cardiovascular disease, IL-6 = interleukin-6, SD = standard deviation.
↵* A standardized difference greater than 0.1 is considered meaningful.
↵† Inactive for < 1 h/wk of moderate and vigorous activity.
↵‡ The median (interquartile range) of each biomarker before standardization in the alive and deceased groups are as follows: AGP: 1.42 (1.29–1.57) and 1.47 (1.33–1.62); IL-6: 1.38 (0.98–2.04) and 1.84 (1.26–2.82); CRP: 0.99 (0.50–2.06) and 1.36 (0.64–6.87).