Characteristics of the study population by baseline high-sensitivity troponin T levels
| Characteristics | Hs-cTnT group (ng/L) | p Value for trend | |||
| Group 1 <3.00 (n=679) | Group 2 3.00–6.21 (n=324) | Group 3 6.22–<14 (n=324) | Group 4 ≥14 (n=172) | ||
| Demographics | |||||
| Age (years) | 58.6±10.3 | 63.1±10.7 | 64.2±12.4 | 61.8±11.5 | <0.001 |
| Male sex, n (%) | 202 (29.7) | 163 (50.3) | 170 (52.5) | 94 (54.7) | <0.001 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 25.5±3.5 | 25.7±3.2 | 25.6±3.3 | 25.8±3.5 | 0.498 |
| Medical history | |||||
| Hypertension, n (%) | 258 (38.0) | 159 (49.1) | 176 (54.3) | 97 (56.4) | <0.001 |
| Diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 99 (14.6) | 72 (22.2) | 76 (23.5) | 45 (26.2) | <0.001 |
| Current smoking, n (%) | 85 (12.5) | 69 (21.3) | 62 (19.1) | 31 (18.0) | 0.003 |
| Systolic BP (mm Hg) | 131.5±16.5 | 132.7±17.3 | 132.8±17.2 | 133.2±17.1 | 0.041 |
| Diastolic BP (mm Hg) | 77.1±9.7 | 77.3±10.0 | 76.4±10.5 | 76.1±11.1 | 0.372 |
| Laboratory values | |||||
| FBG (mmol/L) | 5.3±1.4 | 5.3±1.5 | 5.5±1.7 | 5.8±1.9 | 0.076 |
| PBG (mmol/L) | 7.5±3.7 | 7.1±3.2 | 8.1±4.3 | 8.9±4.4 | <0.001 |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/L) | 5.1±0.9 | 5.1±0.9 | 5.1±0.9 | 5.0±0.9 | 0.464 |
| Triglycerides (mmol/L) | 1.8±1.1 | 1.7±1.1 | 1.7±1.0 | 2.0±1.4 | 0.04 |
| LDL cholesterol (mmol/L) | 3.0±0.7 | 2.9±0.7 | 3.0±0.7 | 3.0±0.7 | 0.136 |
| HDL cholesterol (mmol/L) | 1.4±0.4 | 1.4±0.3 | 1.3±0.4 | 1.3±0.4 | 0.001 |
| Uric acid (μmol/L) | 279.0±68.2 | 295.9±73.3 | 301.2±75.4 | 309.5±76.2 | <0.001 |
| eGFR (mL/min/1.73 m2) | 90.1±14.5 | 88.7±13.4 | 87.5±15.2 | 84.7±16.5 | 0.001 |
| NT-proBNP (pg/mL) | 37.2 (17.9, 75.3) | 38.9 (17.9, 74.4) | 46.6 (22.3, 90.1) | 49.3 (17.1, 112) | 0.003 |
| Hs-CRP (mg/L) | 2.4 (1.3, 3.4) | 2.3 (1.4, 3.4) | 2.2 (1.5, 3.5) | 2.4 (1.6, 3.6) | 0.383 |
| Medication use | |||||
| Antihypertensives, n (%) | 187 (27.5) | 122 (37.7) | 139 (42.9) | 80 (46.5) | <0.001 |
| Antidiabetics, n (%) | 64 (9.4) | 44 (13.6) | 52 (16.0) | 29 (16.9) | 0.0028 |
| Lipid-lowering drugs, n (%) | 109 (16.1) | 61 (18.8) | 58 (17.9) | 34 (19.8) | 0.149 |
| Aspirin, n (%) | 137 (20.2) | 79 (24.4) | 89 (27.5) | 55 (31.9) | <0.001 |
Values are reported as n (%), mean±SD or median (IQR).
BMI, body mass index; BP, blood pressure; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; FBG, fasting blood glucose; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; hs-CRP, high-sensitivity C reactive protein; hs-cTnT, highly sensitive cardiac troponin T; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; PBG, postprandial blood glucose; NT-proBNP, N-terminal pro-type-B natriuretic peptide.