General characteristics of study sample according to gender.
| Characteristics | Total sample (n=3040) | Men (n=1182) | Women (n=1858) | P values |
| Age (years) | 56.6±14.6 | 57.1±14.6 | 56.3±14.5 | 0.11 |
| Smoking (yes) | 508 (17) | 235 (20) | 273 (15) | <0.001 |
| Physically active (yes) | 1674 (55) | 692 (59) | 982 (53) | 0.002 |
| Healthy diet (yes) | 1958 (63) | 698 (57) | 1260 (66) | <0.001 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 25.7±4.4 | 26.7±3.8 | 25.0±4.7 | <0.001 |
| SBP (mm Hg) | 123±16.4 | 126±14.8 | 121±17.1 | <0.001 |
| DBP (mm Hg) | 73±10 | 76±10 | 72±10 | <0.001 |
| Total blood cholesterol (mg/dL) | 213.4±32.2 | 210.8±32.1 | 215.1±32.1 | <0.001 |
| Cholesterol level categories | ||||
| <200 mg/dL | 1079 (36) | 439 (37) | 640 (34) | 0.06 |
| 200–240 mg/dL | 1465 (48) | 572 (48) | 893 (48) | |
| >240 mg/dL | 496 (16) | 171 (15) | 325 (18) | |
| Blood glucose (mg/dL) | 100.7±20.9 | 101.7±23.6 | 100.1±19.1 | 0.04 |
| Cholesterol check in past year (no) | 1201 (40) | 458 (39) | 735 (40) | 0.66 |
| Self-predicted cholesterol level | ||||
| Normal | 1285 (42) | 565 (48) | 720 (39) | <0.001 |
| High | 1148 (38) | 404 (34) | 744 (40) | |
| Don’t know | 607 (20) | 213 (18) | 394 (21) | |
Data are given as numbers (percentages) for smoking, physical activity, healthy diet, cholesterol level categories, cholesterol screening and self-predicted cholesterol; for all other variables, means and SD are reported.
BMI, body mass index; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; SBP, systolic blood pressure.