Table 2: Patient characteristics.

Group A Group B -value Age (year) 0.3925a Sex (male/female) 11/16 9/13 0.9905b Smoking (yes/no) 2/25 1/21 0.6740b Alcohol intake (yes/no) 12/15 11/11 0.6983b BMI (kg/m2) 0.3149a Waist circumference (cm)  Male 0.0435*a  Female 0.9649a SBP (mmHg) 0.7096a DBP (mmHg) 0.5938a TG (mg/dL) 0.6802a HDL-cholesterol (mg/dL) 0.2515a FPG (mg/dL) 0.9278a Central obesity (yes/no) 11/16 7/15 0.5193b High blood pressure (yes/no) 16/11 13/9 0.9905b Dyslipidemia (yes/no) 12/15 11/11 0.6983b Hyperglycemia (yes/no) 8/19 7/15 0.8687b Concomitant drugs  Calcium channel blocker (yes/no) 8/19 7/15 0.8687b  ARB or ACE inhibitor (yes/no) 3/24 4/18 0.4817b  α or β blocker (yes/no) 3/24 1/21 0.4038b  Statin (yes/no) 11/16 8/14 0.7544b  Fibrate (yes/no) 1/26 0/22 0.3618b  Sulfonylurea (yes/no) 3/24 1/21 0.4038b  Thiazolidine analog (yes/no) 3/24 0/22 0.1066b  α-glucosidase inhibitor (yes/no) 2/25 1/21 0.6777b  Antiplatelet drug (yes/no) 1/26 0/22 0.3618b Season test 1 performed 6/14/5/2 9/5/8/0 0.0682b  (Spring/Summer/Fall/Winter)

BMI: body mass index; SBP: systolic blood pressure; DBP: diastolic blood pressure; TG: triglyceride; HDL: high-density lipoprotein; FPG: fasting plasma glucose; central obesity, waist circumference ≥ 85 cm (male), ≥90 cm (female); high blood pressure,  mmHg and/or  mmHg; dyslipidemia,  mg/dL and/or HDL cholesterol < 40 mg/dL; hyperglycemia,  mg/dL; ARB: angiotensin II receptor blocker; ACE: angiotensin-converting enzyme; Spring: March 21 to June 20; Summer: June 21 to September 21; Fall: September 21 to December 20; Winter: December 21 to March 20. aComparison between group A and group B by Wilcoxon test. bComparison between group A and group B by Pearson’s chi-square test. Data are expressed as mean ± S.E., .