Sex Differences in Associations of Depressive Symptoms with Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Metabolic Syndrome among African Americans
Table 1
Sample characteristics and sex differences.
Variable (raw scores)
Total () Mean (SD) or %
Women () Mean (SD) or %
Men () Mean (SD) or %
Sociodemographic and lifestyle covariates
Age (yrs)
48.2 (9.1)
48.3 (9.3)
48.0 (8.9)
Poverty (per Federal guidelines) %
42.5
43.8
41.1
Smoking history (lifetime ≥100 cigarettes)%***
71.4
65.0
78.8
Alcohol (consumed in past week)%***
41.4
34.4
49.5
Drug History (lifetime coke/opiate/cannabis ≥5x)%***
58.7
45.7
73.7
Biomedical covariates
BMI (kg/m2)***
30.1 (7.8)
32.3 (8.6)
27.4 (5.8)
Medical History of CVD %***
22.9
27.6
17.3
Medical history of hypertension***
44.9
51.2
37.7
Medical history of diabetes %
17.4
17.9
16.7
Antihypertensive medication use %***
35.6
41.7
28.5
Antidiabetes medication use %
13.4
13.7
13.0
Cholesterol-reduction medication use
12.6
14.1
11.0
Antidepressant medication use %**
9.4
12.0
6.5
Hormone replacement therapy use %
0.7
1.2
n/a
Menopause %
23.3
43.4
n/a
Predictor and outcome variables
CES-D*
11.3 (7.8)
11.8 (8.5)
10.7 (6.8)
CESD ≥ 16**
25.8
29.5
21.6
Hypertensiona %***
52.6
57.8
46.6
Mean SBP (mmHg)
122.2 (17.4)
122.8 (18.5)
121.4 (16.1)
Mean DBP (mmHg)*
73.5 (11.2)
72.7 (11.0)
74.5 (11.4)
WHR obesity: ≥0.90 ♂ and ≥0.85 ♀ %**
67.2
71.4
62.3
Mean WHR***
0.92 (0.01)
0.90 (0.1)
0.94 (0.1)
Mean waist circumference (cm)***
99.0 (17.5)
102.1 (18.3)
95.4 (15.8)
Hypercholesterolemiab %
20.2
22.7
17.6
Mean CHOL (mg/dL)
183.7 (44.9)
184.6 (38.8)
182.9 (50.7)
Low HDL-C: <40 ♂ and <50 ♀ (mg/dL) %***
33.7
43.1
23.6
Mean HDL-C (mg/dL)
55.3 (18.4)
55.9 (16.0)
54.6 (20.7)
High LDL-C: >160 mg/dL %
7.4
8.2
7.2
Mean LDL-C (mg/dL)
107.7 (37.1)
108.4 (34.8)
106.9 (39.4)
High TG: >200 mg/dL %
6.1
4.3
8.0
Mean TG (mg/dL)
105.7 (85.4)
101.3 (50.6)
110.3 (111.1)
Diabetesc %
18.7
20.8
16.3
Mean GLU (mg/dL)
106.5 (46.3)
110.0 (53.1)
102.8 (37.4)
High hsCRP: 3 mg/L %***
38.9
46.9
30.4
Mean hsCRP (mg/L)
5.9 (14.6)
6.7 (12.5)
5.0 (16.5)
Hypertension: SBP ≥ 140 or DBP ≥ 90 or prior diagnosis or use of antihypertensive medication.
bHypercholesterolemia: fasting CHOL > 240 mg/dL or use of cholesterol-reduction medication. cDiabetes: fasting GLU: 126 mg/dL or prior diagnosis or use of antidiabetes medication. Sex differences: ***; **; *.
