Percentage of Deaths Attributable to Poor Cardiovascular Health Lifestyle Factors: Findings from the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study
Table 1
Baseline characteristics of study participants by survival status, Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study, 1987–1999.
All
Survivor
Decedent
P value
N
11,240
10,972
268
Age, years
45.7 (9.7)
45.5 (9.6)
53.5 (11.1)
<0.0001
Female, %
23.5
23.7
14.6
0.0005
BMI, kg/m2
25.8 (4.1)
25.8 (4.0)
26.4 (4.7)
0.02
Treadmill time, minutes
18.1 (5.2)
18.1 (5.2)
16.5 (5.7)
<0.0001
Total cholesterol, mmol/L
5.4 (1.0)
5.4 (1.0)
5.6 (1.0)
0.0003
Fasting blood glucose, mmol/L
5.5 (0.9)
5.5 (0.9)
5.7 (1.3)
0.01
Blood pressure, mmHg
Systolic
119 (14)
119 (14)
125 (16)
<0.0001
Diastolic
80 (10)
80 (10)
83 (10)
<0.0001
Hypertensiona, %
26.4
26.1
41.0
<0.0001
Diabetes mellitusb, %
2.6
2.5
5.6
0.002
Hypercholesterolemiac, %
29.2
29.0
36.9
0.005
Family history of CVD, %
11.3
11.2
14.6
0.08
Ideal modifiable lifestyle factors, %
Nonsmoker
88.6
88.6
84.7
0.045
18.5 ≤ BMI < 25
47.0
47.1
45.9
0.71
Moderate and high fit
91.3
91.4
86.9
0.01
Healthy diet (3-4 components)
37.6
37.5
43.3
0.05
Mean (standard deviation) for continuous variables; percentage for categorical variables. CVD: cardiovascular disease; BMI: body mass index. Hypertension is defined as systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg, or a history of physician diagnosis. Diabetes mellitus is defined as a fasting plasma glucose concentration ≥7.0 mmol/L, a history of physician diagnosis, or insulin use. Hypercholesterolemia is defined as total cholesterol ≥6.20 mmol/L, or a history of physician diagnosis.
