Age-adjusted mean values and trend in cardiometabolic risk factors and prevalence of metabolic syndrome among women and men without diabetes* aged 40–84: the Tromsø Study 1994–2016
| Tromsø 4 | Tromsø 5 | Tromsø 6 | Tromsø 7 | Coefficient/OR (95% CI)† | P value | |
| Women | N=2856 | N=3098 | N=5671 | N=9741 | ||
| Mean (SD) | ||||||
| HbA1c (%) | 5.38 (0.3) | 5.25 (0.5) | 5.53 (0.4) | 5.59 (0.3) | 0.13 (0.12 to 0.13) | <0.001 |
| Serum total cholesterol (mmol/L) | 6.98 (1.3) | 6.41 (1.2) | 5.80 (1.1) | 5.63 (1.0) | –0.60 (–0.61 to –0.58) | <0.001 |
| HDL cholesterol (mmol/L) | 1.69 (0.4) | 1.57 (0.4) | 1.66 (0.4) | 1.75 (0.5) | 0.06 (0.05 to 0.06) | <0.001 |
| Triglycerides (mmol/L) | 1.54 (0.9) | 1.43 (0.7) | 1.38 (0.7) | 1.34 (0.7) | –0.08 (–0.10 to –0.07) | <0.001 |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 84.5 (10.6) | 84.4 (11.5) | 90.7 (11.8) | 90.6 (12.5) | 3.00 (2.81 to 3.18) | <0.001 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 141.0 (23.6) | 135.5 (22.4) | 135.6 (24.8) | 128.7 (20.3) | –5.85 (–6.17 to –5.52) | <0.001 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 81.5 (13.1) | 79.9 (12.6) | 75.5 (10.1) | 73.2 (9.7) | –4.05 (–4.23 to –3.87) | <0.001 |
| Proportion, % (n) | ||||||
| Metabolic syndrome | 19.9 (614) | 18.5 (639) | 19.6 (1071) | 16.9 (1548) | 0.91 (0.87 to 0.95) | <0.001 |
| Abdominal obesity (≥88 cm) | 34.0 (1034) | 34.4 (1150) | 58.6 (3213) | 56.4 (5250) | 1.55 (1.50 to 1.61) | <0.001 |
| Low HDL cholesterol (<1.29 mmol/L) | 17.4 (480) | 25.0 (705) | 15.9 (871) | 14.3 (1406) | 0.83 (0.79 to 0.86) | <0.001 |
| Hypertension | 69.9 (2145) | 61.1 (2243) | 61.8 (3199) | 49.4 (4227) | 0.66 (0.63 to 0.69) | <0.001 |
| Elevated triglycerides (≥1.7 mmol/L) | 31.8 (934) | 26.9 (881) | 24.7 (1378) | 23.3 (2169) | 0.83 (0.80 to 0.86) | <0.001 |
| Men | N=2763 | N=2203 | N=4976 | N=8758 | ||
| Mean (SD) | ||||||
| HbA1c (%) | 5.35 (0.4) | 5.33 (0.4) | 5.57 (0.4) | 5.60 (0.3) | 0.12 (0.11 to 0.13) | <0.001 |
| Serum total cholesterol (mmol/L) | 6.64 (1.2) | 6.20 (1.1) | 5.56 (1.0) | 5.41 (1.0) | –0.55 (–0.57 to –0.53) | <0.001 |
| HDL cholesterol (mmol/L) | 1.41 (0.4) | 1.34 (0.4) | 1.37 (0.4) | 1.40 (0.4) | 0.01 (0.00 to 0.01) | 0.039 |
| Triglycerides (mmol/L) | 1.80 (1.0) | 1.70 (0.9) | 1.63 (1.0) | 1.67 (1.0) | –0.05 (–0.07 to –0.03) | <0.001 |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 94.8 (9.1) | 94.9 (9.8) | 99.2 (10.2) | 99.9 (10.9) | 2.44 (2.27 to 2.61) | <0.001 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 143.4 (20.4) | 139.0 (20.7) | 139.0 (20.5) | 133.6 (17.8) | –4.75 (–5.08 to –4.43) | <0.001 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 85.7 (12.0) | 82.9 (11.9) | 81.6 (10.2) | 78.6 (9.7) | –3.41 (–3.60 to –3.22) | <0.001 |
| Proportion, % (n) | ||||||
| Metabolic syndrome | 19.0 (537) | 18.1 (386) | 22.1 (1071) | 22.2 (1899) | 1.10 (1.05 to 1.16) | <0.001 |
| Abdominal obesity (≥102 cm) | 20.7 (603) | 24.1 (564) | 39.8 (1919) | 41.5 (3494) | 1.55 (1.49 to 1.62) | <0.001 |
| Low HDL cholesterol (<1.03 mmol/L) | 14.6 (418) | 17.7 (368) | 18.6 (929) | 17.4 (1557) | 1.07 (1.02 to 1.12) | 0.005 |
| Hypertension | 80.7 (2269) | 71.8 (1728) | 72.4 (3393) | 63.8 (5155) | 0.67 (0.64 to 0.70) | <0.001 |
| Elevated triglycerides (≥1.7 mmol/L) | 43.4 (1162) | 38.8 (738) | 37.4 (1875) | 38.2 (3455) | 0.92 (0.89 to 0.96) | <0.001 |
Coefficients/ORs with CIs and p value for trend, mean values and proportions are adjusted for age across surveys using generalised estimating equation (GEE) models. N represents crude numbers.
Metabolic syndrome is defined as the presence of 3 out of 5 criteria: diabetes (not present for everyone in this table), abdominal obesity, low HDL cholesterol, hypertension (blood pressure ≥130/85 mm Hg and/or use of antihypertensive medication) and elevated triglycerides.
*‘Without diabetes’ defined as no self-reported diabetes and HbA1c <6.5%.
†Regression coefficients for continuous variables and ORs for proportions are presented per 10 years.
HbA1c, glycated haemoglobin; HDL, high-density lipoprotein.