Baseline characteristics of the study population
| Total (n=1815) | Men (n=800) | Women (n=1015) | p Value | |
| Age (years) | 67.0 (±11.8) | 65.0 (±11.8) | 68.6 (±11.6) | <0.001 |
| Diabetes duration (years) | 4.0 (2.0–9.0) | 4.0 (1.8–9.0) | 5.0 (2.0–10.0) | 0.017 |
| History of CVD | 605 (33.3) | 307 (38.4) | 298 (29.4) | <0.001 |
| Smoking | 342 (19.0) | 206 (26.0) | 136 (13.5) | <0.001 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 29.1 (±4.8) | 28.2 (±4.1) | 29.9 (±5.2) | <0.001 |
| SBP (mm Hg) | 151.5 (±24.4) | 147.2 (±23.4) | 155.0 (±24.5) | <0.001 |
| HbA1c (mmol/mol) | 7.0 (6.3–8.1) | 6.9 (6.2–8.1) | 7.1 (6.4–8.1) | 0.131 |
| Creatine (µmol/L) | 92.0 (82.0–104.0) | 98.0 (89.0–109.0) | 86.0 (77.0–97.0) | <0.001 |
| Chol-HDL ratio | 4.8 (3.9–5.9) | 4.9 (4.0–6.0) | 4.7 (3.8–5.8) | 0.001 |
| Retinopathy | 190 (10.9) | 70 (9.1) | 120 (12.3) | 0.030 |
| Microalbuminuria | 544 (30.8) | 267 (34.0) | 277 (28.3) | 0.011 |
| Macroalbuminuria | 114 (6.5) | 68 (8.7) | 46 (4.7) | 0.001 |
| Neuropathy | 477 (26.6) | 212 (26.7) | 265 (26.6) | 0.931 |
| Microvascular complications* | 1012 (57.7) | 466 (59.7) | 546 (56.1) | 0.120 |
| Low CVD risk† | 424 (23.4) | 154 (19.3) | 270 (26.6) | <0.001 |
| DM treatment | ||||
| Diet | 318 (17.5) | 158 (19.8) | 160 (15.8) | 0.026 |
| Oral only | 1230 (67.8) | 540 (67.6) | 690 (68.0) | 0.834 |
| Insulin | 262 (14.5) | 99 (12.4) | 163 (16.1) | 0.028 |
| ACEi/ARB | 433 (27.1) | 179 (25.1) | 254 (28.7) | 0.108 |
| Lipid-lowering drugs | 278 (15.6) | 139 (17.7) | 139 (13.9) | 0.030 |
| Antiplatelet drugs | 279 (15.6) | 139 (17.6) | 140 (14.0) | 0.035 |
| Death | 888 (48.9) | 381 (47.6) | 507 (50.0) | 0.325 |
| CVD death | 374 (20.6) | 161 (20.1) | 213 (21.0) | 0.653 |
Values are depicted as n (%), mean (±SD) or median (IQR).
*Defined as the presence of albuminuria, neuropathy or DRP.
†Defined as non-smoking patients without a history of CVD and microvascular complications.
ACEi, ACE inhibitor; ARB, angiotensin receptor blocker.; BMI, body mass index; Chol-HDL, cholesterol-High Density Lipoprotein; CVD, cardiovascular disease; DM, diabetes mellitus; DRP, diabetic retinopathy; SBP, systolic blood pressure.