Table 1 Baseline characteristics of REGARDS participants without coronary heart disease (N = 24,461), by Income-Education Category
Characteristics | Overall | High income-high education n = 11155 | Low incomea-high education n = 7955 | High income-low educationb n = 293 | Low incomea- low educationb n = 2009 | P-Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Demographics | ||||||
 Age, mean ± SD | 64.1 ± 9.3 | 61.8 ± 8.7 | 65.7 ± 9.4 | 63.7 ± 9.5 | 67.9 ± 9.7 | <.0001 |
 Women, n (%) | 12194 (57.0) | 5469 (49.0) | 5338 (67.1) | 113 (38.6) | 1274 (63.4) | <.0001 |
 Black, n (%) | 9054 (42.3) | 3549 (31.8) | 3947 (49.6) | 128 (43.7) | 1430 (71.2) | <.0001 |
 Region of residence, n (%) |  |  |  |  |  | <.0001 |
  Nonbelt | 9563 (44.7) | 5222 (46.8) | 3472 (43.7) | 127 (43.3) | 742 (36.9) |  |
  Stroke Beltc | 7409 (34.6) | 3594 (32.2) | 2912 (36.6) | 92 (31.4) | 811 (40.4) |  |
  Stroke Buckled | 4439 (20.7) | 2338 (21.0) | 1571 (19.8) | 74 (25.3) | 456 (22.7) |  |
  Urban residence, n (%) | 15213 (78.6) | 7826 (77.4) | 5760 (80.3) | 202 (75.7) | 1425 (79.3) | <.0001 |
Physiologic risk factors | ||||||
 Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg, mean ± SD | 127.1 ± 16.5 | 124.7 ± 15.3 | 129.0 ± 17.0 | 128.7 ± 16.1 | 132.2 ± 18.2 | <.0001 |
 Body mass index (kg/m2), mean ± SD | 29.3 ± 6.2 | 28.9 ± 5.7 | 29.7 ± 6.7 | 29.5 ± 5.7 | 30.4 ± 6.8 | <.0001 |
 Total cholesterol (mg/dL), mean ± SD | 195.1 ± 39.3 | 194.0 ± 37.3 | 196.7 ± 41.3 | 190.5 ± 39.9 | 193.1 ± 40.6 | 0.75 |
 High density lipoprotein cholesterol (mg/dL), mean ± SD | 52.8 ± 16.3 | 52.3 ± 16.3 | 53.1 ± 16.1 | 48.3 ± 14.6 | 51.6 ± 15.4 | 0.18 |
 High sensitivity C-reactive protein, median [interquartile range] | 2.2 [0.9–5.0] | 1.8[0.8–4.2] | 2.6[1.1–6.0] | 2.6[1.3–5.7] | 3.2[1.3–6.7] | <.0001 |
 Urinary albumin to creatinine Ratio, median [interquartile range] | 7.1 [4.5–14.5] | 6.25[4.2–11.7] | 7.9 [4.9–17.17] | 6.9 [4.4–13.9] | 9.3 [5.2–24.3 | <.0001 |
Health behaviors | ||||||
 Smoking status, n (%) |  |  |  |  |  | <.0001 |
  Never | 10036 (47.0) | 5446 (49.0) | 3676 (46.4) | 99 (33.9) | 815 (40.7) |  |
  Past | 8226 (38.5) | 4456 (40.1) | 2872 (36.2) | 139 (47.6) | 759 (37.9) |  |
  Current | 3085 (14.5) | 1219 (11.0) | 1382 (17.4) | 54 (18.5) | 430 (21.5) |  |
 No Exercise, n (%) | 6988 (33.1) | 3097 (28.0) | 2939 (37.5) | 97 (34.0) | 855 (43.4) | <.0001 |
 Alcohol use, n (%) |  |  |  |  |  | <.0001 |
  Heavy | 887 (4.2) | 576 (5.2) | 255 (3.3) | 10 (3.5) | 46 (2.4) |  |
  Moderate | 7271 (34.6) | 4784 (43.5) | 2057 (26.4) | 93 (32.8) | 337 (17.2) |  |
  None | 12870 (61.2) | 5628 (51.2) | 5486 (70.4) | 181 (63.7) | 1575 (80.4) |  |
Medical history | ||||||
 Diabetes, n (%) | 4004 (19.4) | 1548 (14.3) | 1763 (23.1) | 62 (21.8) | 631 (32.9) | <.0001 |
 Vascular disease, n (%) | 1373 (13.7) | 435 (3.90) | 655 (8.23) | 24 (8.19) | 259 (12.9) | <.0001 |
 Antihypertensive medication use, n (%) | 10312 (48.6) | 4680 (42.3) | 4239 (53.9) | 137 (47.6) | 1256 (63.4) | <.0001 |
 Insulin use, n (%) | 953 (4.4) | 316 (2.8) | 445 (5.6) | 11 (3.8) | 181 (9.0) | <.0001 |
 Statin use, n (%) | 5980 (28.2) | 3089 (27.9) | 2180 (27.6) | 86 (29.4) | 625 (31.5) | 0.0057 |
Psychosocial measures and insurance coverage | ||||||
 Depressive Symptoms (CES-D ≥4), n (%) | 2163 (10.2) | 631 (5.7) | 1074 (13.6) | 26 (8.9) | 432 (21.6) | <.0001 |
 Perceived Stress, median score [interquartile range] | 3.0[0–5.0] | 2.0[0–4.0] | 3.0[1.0–6.0] | 3.0[0–5.0] | 4.0[1.0–7.0] | <.0001 |
 Insured, n (%) | 1990 (93.0) | 10840 (97.2) | 7026 (88.4) | 277 (94.5) | 1764 (87.9) | <.0001 |