Baseline characteristics of the study population per MD and Bcs status
| MD | Bcs | Bcs* | |||||||||||
| Variable | All (N=1406) | A | B | C | D | P value | None | Any | P value | None | Micro | Macro | P value |
| Age (years) | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||||||||
| n (%) | 125 (8.9) | 545 (38.8) | 671 (47.7) | 65 (4.6) | 1125 | 281 | 1125 | 243 | 32 | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 53.8 (8.0) | 57.5 (8.8) | 55.6 (8.1) | 52.2 (7.3) | 48.3 (5.9) | 53.3 (7.8) | 55.9 (8.4) | 53.3 (7.8) | 55.2 (8.4) | 60.3 (7.2) | |||
| Range | 40.2–89.0 | 41.3–89.0 | 40.2–86.1 | 40.2–79.3 | 40.5–66.7 | 40.2–89.0 | 40.8–79.3 | 40.2–89.0 | 40.8–79.3 | 45.5–79.3 | |||
| BMI (kg/m2) | <0.001 | 0.043 | 0.054 | ||||||||||
| n | 1372 | 123 | 528 | 656 | 65 | 1097 | 275 | 1097 | 238 | 32 | |||
| Mean (SD) | 32.2 (6.7) | 35.8 (8.7) | 33.5 (6.4) | 30.9 (6.1) | 26.8 (4.4) | 32.0 (6.7) | 32.9 (6.8) | 32.0 (6.7) | 33.0 (6.8) | 31.9 (6.6) | |||
| Range | 14.7–81.5) | 21.6–75.5 | 15.7–55.6 | 14.7–81.5 | 18.8–40.1 | 14.7–81.5 | 19.1–55.1 | 14.7–81.5 | 19.1–55.1 | 22.2–47.0 | |||
| HTN | |||||||||||||
| Stage 1†, n (%) | 760/1374 (55.3) | 86/123 (69.9) | 327/536 (61.0) | 322/652 (49.4) | 25/63 (39.7) | <0.001 | 589/1100 (53.5) | 171/274 (62.4) | 0.008 | 589/1100 (53.5) | 142/237 (59.9) | 23/31 (74.2) | 0.012 |
| Stage 2‡, n (%) | 531/1374 (38.6) | 69/123 (56.1) | 248/536 (46.3) | 201/652 (30.8) | 13/63 (20.6) | <0.001 | 406/1100 (36.9) | 125/274 (45.6) | 0.008 | 406/1100 (36.9) | 104/237 (43.9) | 17/31 (54.8) | 0.006 |
| Hypercholesterolemia§, n (%) | 571/1188 (48.1) | 68/104 (65.4) | 246/476 (51.7) | 241/558 (43.2) | 16/50 (32.0) | <0.001 | 439/948 (46.3) | 132/240 (55.0) | 0.016 | 439/948 (46.3) | 110/206 (53.4) | 19/29 (65.5) | 0.010 |
| DM¶, n (%) | 399/1234 (32.3) | 48/110 (43.6) | 187/493 (37.9) | 159/577 (27.6) | 5/54 (9.3) | <0.001 | 290/986 (29.4) | 109/248 (44.0) | <0.001 | 290/986 (29.4) | 87/213 (40.8) | 19/30 (63.3) | <0.001 |
| HDL-C (mmol/L) | 0.268 | 0.553 | 0.306 | ||||||||||
| n | 1145 | 94 | 459 | 542 | 50 | 914 | 231 | 914 | 197 | 29 | |||
| Mean (SD) | 1.34 (0.32) | 1.32 (0.33) | 1.33 (0.30) | 1.35 (0.34) | 1.40 (0.38) | 1.34 (0.32) | 1.33 (0.35) | 1.34 (0.32) | 1.33 (0.37) | 1.31 (0.27) | |||
| Range | 0.56–3.09 | 0.70–2.48 | 0.72–3.09 | 0.56–2.78 | 0.78–2.22 | 0.56–2.72 | 0.72–3.09 | 0.56–2.72 | 0.72–3.09 | 0.85–2.05 | |||
| <1.3, n (%) | 557/1145 (48.6) | 47/94 (50.0) | 224/459 (48.8) | 266/542 (49.1) | 20/50 (40.0) | 0.558 | 443/914 (48.5) | 114/231 (49.4) | 0.811 | 443/914 (48.5) | 99/197 (50.3) | 13/29 (44.8) | 0.954 |
| TG (mmol/L) | <0.001 | 0.021 | 0.048 | ||||||||||
| n | 1146 | 95 | 459 | 542 | 50 | 915 | 231 | 915 | 197 | 29 | |||
| Mean (SD) | 1.24 (0.66) | 1.35 (0.60) | 1.32 (0.71) | 1.17 (0.62) | 1.11 (0.71) | 1.22 (0.63) | 1.33 (0.77) | 1.22 (0.63) | 1.34 (0.79) | 1.37 (0.65) | |||
| Range | 0.27–5.70 | 0.35–4.24 | 0.35–4.78 | 0.27–5.70 | 0.30–3.99 | 0.30–4.78 | 0.27–5.70 | 0.30–4.78 | 0.27–5.70 | 0.35–3.30 | |||
| ≥2, n (%) | 118/1146 (10.3) | 11/95 (11.6) | 59/459 (12.9) | 42/542 (7.7) | 6/50 (12.0) | 0.076 | 91/915 (9.9) | 27/231 (11.7) | 0.436 | 91/915 (9.9) | 23/197 (11.7) | 4/29 (13.8) | 0.336 |
| Cr (μmol/L) | 0.102 | 0.607 | 0.640 | ||||||||||
| n | 1151 | 100 | 459 | 539 | 53 | 915 | 236 | 915 | 204 | 27 | |||
| Median (IQR) | 56.0 (49.0–63.0) | 56 (48–62.5) | 56 (50–64) | 55 (48–62) | 54 (50–60) | 56 (49–63) | 54 (49–63) | 56 (49–63) | 55 (49–63) | 52 (49–60) | |||
| Range | 28.0–275.0 | 33–122 | 32–180 | 28–275 | 31–83 | 28–275 | 31–180 | 28–275 | 31–165 | 40–180 | |||
| >90, n (%) | 16/1151 (1.4) | 3/100 (3.0) | 8/459 (1.7) | 5/539 (0.9) | 0/53 (0.0) | 0.052 | 7/915 (0.8) | 9/236 (3.8) | <0.001 | 7/915 (0.8) | 8/204 (3.9) | 1/27 (3.7) | <0.001 |
| Bcs | |||||||||||||
| Any n (%) | 281 (20.0) | 16 (12.8) | 101 (18.5) | 148 (22.1) | 16 (24.6) | 0.006 | |||||||
The p value was based on the Jonckheere-Terpstra or Cochran-Armitage trend test for continuous and binary variables. For categorical variables with more than two levels, χ2 test or Fisher’s exact test was used. For the dichotomized level of calcification, the p value was based on analysis of variance, Kruskal-Wallis test, χ2 test, or Fisher’s exact test as appropriate.
*6 (0.4%) participants had both microcalcification and macrocalcification and were excluded from this analysis.
†BP ≥130/80 mm Hg or on treatment.
‡BP ≥140/90 mm Hg or on treatment.
§Fasting low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ≥4.9 mmol/L or on treatment.
¶FBS ≥7, RBS ≥11.1, or HbA1c ≥6.5, or on treatment.
Bcs, breast calcifications; BMI, body mass index; BP, blood pressure; Cr, creatinine; DM, diabetes mellitus; FBS, fasting blood sugar ; HbA1c, hemoglobin A1c; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; HTN, hypertension; MD, mammographic density; RBS, random blood sugar; TG, triglycerides.