Socioeconomic differences in metabolic syndrome development: examining the mediating role of chronic stress using the Lifelines Cohort Study

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the study population

Characteristics	Study population (n = 53,216)^a	Missing values (%)
Demographic
Age (years), mean (SD)	45.2 (12.2)	0
Sex (female)	61.5	0
Socioeconomic
Education (years), mean (SD)	12.3 (2.4)	2.0
Low^b	26.5
Middle^b	39.0
High^b	32.4
Occupational prestige (SIOPS08), mean (SD)	43.9 (13.4)	3.7
Equivalized household income (euros), mean (SD)	1573.8 (571.3)	14.5
Metabolic syndrome indicators, meeting condition^c
Waist circumference^d	26.3	0
Triglyceride level^e	8.6	0
HDL cholesterol^f	9.1	0
Blood pressure^g	31.6	0
Glucose level^h	5.7	0.6
Covariates related to Long-term Difficulties Inventory domains
Work (yes)	79.0	2.5
Partner (yes)	86.2	1.0
Children (yes)	73.4	2.9
Parents died (yes)	22.5	0
School/study (yes)	5.6	0
Member of a church or other religious community (yes)	22.0	0

SD Standard deviation, SIOPS08 Standard International Occupational Prestige Scale 2008, HDL High-density lipoprotein
^a% Presented, unless otherwise indicated
^bCategories according to Dutch Standard Education Format [33]
^cAccording to definition of metabolic syndrome by NCEP-ATPIII
^d ≥ 102 cm in male, or ≥ 88 cm in female
^e ≥ 1.70 mmol/l, or use of medication for elevated triglycerides
^f < 1.0 mmol/L in male, < 1.3 mmol/L in female, or use of lipid-lowering medication
^gSystolic blood pressure ≥ 130 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure ≥ 85 mmHg, or use of blood pressure-lowering medication
^hFasting blood glucose level ≥ 5.6 mmol/l, diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, or use of blood glucose-lowering medication

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