Characteristics of the study population at baseline by sex
| Variables | Overall | Female | Male | P value |
| n=1307 | n=701 | n=606 | ||
| Age (y) | 75±7.1 | 75±7.2 | 75±6.9 | 0.8 |
| Age, n (%) | <0.01 | |||
| 65–70 | 431 (33) | 242 (34.5) | 189 (31.2) | |
| 71–75 | 323 (24.7) | 177 (25.3) | 146 (24.1) | |
| 76–80 | 263 (20.1) | 117 (16.7) | 146 (24.1) | |
| >80 | 290 (22.2) | 165 (23.5) | 125 (20.6) | |
| Residence, n (%) | <0.001 | |||
| Rural | 440 (33.7) | 206 (29.4) | 234 (38.6) | |
| Urban | 867 (66.3) | 495 (70.6) | 372 (61.4) | |
| Race, n (%) | 0.2 | |||
| White | 177 (13.5) | 109 (15.5) | 68 (11.2) | |
| Indigenous | 107 (8.2) | 51 (7.3) | 56 (9.2) | |
| Mixed | 847 (64.8) | 444 (63.3) | 403 (66.5) | |
| Black (Afro-Ecuadorians) | 42 (3.2) | 23 (3.3) | 19 (3.1) | |
| Mulatto | 47 (3.6) | 26 (3.7) | 21 (3.5) | |
| Education, n (%) | 0.01 | |||
| No schooling | 25 (1.9) | 14 (2.7) | 11 (1.8) | |
| Primary (≤6 y) | 826 (63.2) | 415 (59.2) | 411 (67.8) | |
| Secondary (7–12 y) | 102 (7.8) | 65 (9.3) | 37 (6.1) | |
| Tertiary (≥13 y) | 34 (2.6) | 12 (1.7) | 22 (3.6) | |
| Self-assessed health status, n (%) | <0.01 | |||
| Poor | 267 (20.4) | 157 (22.4) | 110 (18.2) | |
| Fair | 733 (56.1) | 407 (58.1) | 326 (53.8) | |
| Good | 265 (20.3) | 125 (17.8) | 140 (23.1) | |
| Very good | 27 (2.1) | 8 (1.1) | 19 (3.1) | |
| Excellent | 13 (1) | 3 (0.4) | 10 (1.6) | |
| Occupational status, n (%) | ||||
| Yes | 627 (48) | 240 (34.2) | 387 (63.9) | <0.01 |
| Living arrangements, n (%) | ||||
| Alone | 137 (10.5) | 73 (10.4) | 64 (10.6) | 1 |
| Smoking status | <0.01 | |||
| Never | 810 (62) | 608 (86.7) | 202 (33.3) | |
| Former | 364 (27.8) | 71 (10.1) | 293 (48.3) | |
| Current | 130 (1) | 20 (2.8) | 110 (18.2) | |
| Hypertension, n (%)* | <0.01 | |||
| Yes | 730 (55.8) | 442 (63.1) | 288 (47.5) | |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 139.2±23.4 | 140.6±24.8 | 137.3±22.7 | <0.01 |
| Diabetes mellitus†, n (%) | ||||
| Yes | 147 (11.2) | 98 (14) | 49 (8) | 0.5 |
| BMI (kg/m2)‡ | 26±4.6 | 26.5 (14.9–30) | 24.7 (14.5–27.2) | <0.01 |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dL) | 200.2±41.8 | 207.9±43.6 | 191.2±37.8 | <0.001 |
| HDL-cholesterol (mg/dL) | 48.3±14.5 | 50.2±14.4 | 46.2±14.3 | <0.001 |
| LDL-cholesterol§ (mg/dL) | 116 (96–140) | 119 (29–144) | 114 (34–137) | <0.001 |
| Triglycerides§ (mg/dL) | 136 (99–190) | 146 (105–199) | 127 (93–177) | <0.001 |
| hs-CRP (mg/dL) | 2.3 (1.1–5) | 2.5 (1.3–5.4) | 2.1 (1–4.6) | <0.01 |
Plus-minus values are means±SD. Percentages may not sum to 100 due to missing data or rounding.
*Hypertension was defined as a systolic blood pressure ≥140 mm Hg.
†The presence of diabetes was based on a fasting plasma glucose level ≥126 mg/dL.
‡The body mass index is the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters.
§Expressed as median (25%–75%), because of skewed distribution.
BMI, body mass index; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; hs-CRP, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein.