Characterisation of Hypertensive Patients with Improved Endothelial Function after Dark Chocolate Consumption
Table 1
Baseline characteristics of study population and responder (RESP) and nonresponder (N-RESP) groups.
Parameters
Total sample ()
RESP ()
N-RESP ()
P value
Age, years
57 ± 8
54 ± 8
61 ± 6*
0.037
Framingham risk score, %
5.3 ± 4.7
2.5 ± 1.8
8.1 ± 5.1*
0.011
Body mass index, Kg/m²
28.2 ± 4.5
29.7 ± 5.2
26.1 ± 2.9
0.065
Systolic BP, mmHg
141 ± 11
140 ± 12
142 ± 8
0.718
Diastolic BP, mmHg
82 ± 9
85 ± 7
79 ± 9
0.147
Pulse pressure, mmHg
58 ± 9
55 ± 9
63 ± 5
0.041
Mean arterial pressure, mmHg
101 ± 9
103 ± 8
100 ± 9
0.417
Total cholesterol, mmol/L
5.56 ± 1.21
5.30 ± 0.77
5.84 ± 1.52
0.355
HDL-cholesterol, mmol/L
1.24 ± 0.36
1.27 ± 0.31
1.21 ± 0.41
0.771
LDL-cholesterol, mmol/L
3.46 ± 0.72
3.31 ± 0.67
3.62 ± 0.77
0.411
Triglycerides, mmol/L
1.56 ± 1.13
1.41 ± 0.53
1.70 ± 1.55
0.594
Fasting glucose, mmol/L
4.72 ± 0.5
4.72 ± 0.61
4.67 ± 0.39
0.864
Flow-mediated dilation, %
10.7 ± 5.5
8.4 ± 5.9
13.8 ± 2.8*
0.023
Reactive hyperemia index, units
2.03 ± 0.71
1.70 ± 0.63
2.47 ± 0.51**
0.006
Augmentation pressure, mmHg
15 ± 7
15 ± 7
16 ± 5
0.869
Augmentation index, %
32 ± 11
34 ± 12
29 ± 9
0.343
Aortic systolic BP, mmHg
130 ± 15
128 ± 18
133 ± 11
0.550
Aortic pulse pressure, mmHg
48 ± 10
44 ± 10
54 ± 6*
0.021
Results are expressed as mean ± SD. BP: blood pressure; HDL: high density lipoprotein; LDL: low-density lipoprotein. *P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01 versus responder group.
