Association between Obesity and Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in Korean Office Workers: The Mediating Effect of Physical Activity
Table 3
Characteristics of study participants according to physical activity and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR).
Physically Active
P value
Physically Inactive
P value
Total (n=333)
WHtR (<0.5) (n=134)
WHtR (0.5) (n=199)
Total (n=581)
WHtR (<0.5) (n=225)
WHtR (0.5) (n=356)
Age, years
43.9±9.2
41.5±9.9
45.6±8.4
<0.001
43.2±9.2
40.7±9.4
44.8±8.8
<0.001
BMI, kg/m2
24.3±2.6
22.4±2.0
25.6±2.2
<0.001
23.9±3.1
21.5±2.0
25.5±2.6
<0.001
WHtR
0.51±0.04
0.47±0.02
0.54±0.03
<0.001
0.51±0.05
0.47±0.02
0.54±0.03
<0.001
Body fat, %
24.7±6.0
22.2±5.8
26.3±5.6
<0.001
26.7±6.1
24.3±5.7
28.3±5.9
<0.001
LBM, kg
29.3±5.8
27.8±5.9
30.3±5.5
<0.001
27.1±6.3
24.5±5.5
28.7±6.2
<0.001
SBP, mmHg
123.6±13.4
120.1±13.8
126.0±12.6
<0.001
123.0±15.3
116.1±12.6
127.4±15.3
<0.001
DBP, mmHg
79.4±10.0
77.3±11.0
80.9±9.1
0.001
78.4±10.8
74.5±10.5
81.0±10.2
<0.001
Current smoking, n (%)
Never smoker
261(78.4)
114(85.1)
147(73.9)
0.012
482
199(88.4)
283(79.5)
0.018
Former smoker
4(1.2)
1(0.7)
3(1.5)
0.384
7
3(1.4)
4(1.1)
0.584
Current smoker
68(20.4)
19(14.2)
49(24.6)
0.004
92
23(10.2)
69(19.4)
0.012
Alcohol consumption
No drinking
173(52.6)
79(59.0)
94(48.2)
0.012
354(61.5)
150(66.7)
204(58.1)
0.013
≤1 time per week
99(30.1)
35(26.1)
64(32.8)
0.042
147(25.5)
56(24.9)
91(25.9)
0.358
≥2 time per week
57(17.3)
20(14.9)
37(19.0)
0.102
75(13.0)
19(8.4)
56(16.0)
0.012
Hypertension, n (%)
29(8.9)
8(6.0)
21(10.8)
0.133
69(12.3)
8(3.7)
61(17.8)
<0.001
Diabetes, n (%)
7(2.1)
4(3.0)
3(1.5)
0.370
12(2.1)
3(1.4)
9(2.6)
0.327
Hyperlipidemia, n (%)
20(6.1)
4(3.0)
16(8.2)
0.052
48(8.6)
7(3.2)
41(12.0)
<0.001
CIMT, mm
0.52±0.08
0.50±0.08
0.53±0.08
0.001
0.53±0.11
0.49±0.09
0.55±0.12
<0.001
Physically Active: meeting the WHO recommended minimum amount of weekly physical activity. Physically Inactive: not meeting the WHO recommended minimum amount of weekly physical activity. LBM: lean body mass, SBP: systolic blood pressure, DBP: diastolic blood pressure, and CIMT: carotid intima-media thickness.
