Table 1 Participant characteristics overall and stratified by metabolic syndrome status
|  | All (n = 1046) | No metabolic syndrome (n = 768) | Metabolic syndrome (n = 278) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sex | ||||
 Male | 486 (46.5) | 322 (41.9) | 164 (59.0) |  |
 Female | 560 (53.5) | 446 (58.1) | 114 (41.0) |  < 0.001 |
Age (y) | 51.2 ± 12.2 | 48.7 ± 11.7 | 58.1 ± 10.8 |  < 0.001 |
Education level | ||||
 Higher education | 456 (43.6) | 371 (48.3) | 85 (30.6) |  |
 High school | 443 (42.3) | 315 (41.0) | 128 (46.0) |  |
 No diploma | 147 (14.1) | 82 (10.7) | 65 (23.4) |  < 0.001 |
Smoking status | ||||
 Never | 626 (59.8) | 481 (62.6) | 145 (52.2) |  |
 Former | 300 (28.7) | 208 (27.1) | 92 (33.1) |  |
 Current | 120 (11.5) | 79 (10.3) | 41 (14.7) | 0.007 |
Use of antihypertensive, diabetes and/or lipid-lowering medication | ||||
 No | 747 (71.4) | 655 (85.3) | 92 (33.1) |  |
 Yes | 299 (28.6) | 113 (14.7) | 186 (66.9) |  < 0.001 |
Family history of CVD or diabetes | ||||
 No | 687 (65.7) | 523 (68.1) | 164 (59.0) |  |
 Yes | 314 (30.0) | 218 (28.4) | 96 (34.5) |  |
 Unknown | 45 (4.3) | 27 (3.5) | 18 (6.5) | 0.010 |
Energy intake (kcal/day) | 2362 (1848 to 2974) | 2284 (1806 to 2901) | 2557 (1996 to 3136) |  < 0.001 |
Salt (g/day) | 8.2 (6.2 to 11.0) | 8.1 (6.0 to 10.7) | 8.9 (6.9 to 11.8) |  < 0.001 |
Caffeine (mg/day) | 308.1 ± 313.6 | 298.6 ± 307.7 | 334.2 ± 328.5 | 0.06 |
Depressive symptoms | 8 (4 to 14) | 8 (4 to 14) | 9 (4 to 15) | 0.085 |
Sleep quality | 5 (4 to 8) | 5 (4 to 8) | 5 (4 to 8) | 0.45 |
General health | 78 (70 to 86) | 78 (70 to 86) | 74 (62 to 82) |  < 0.001 |
Season | Â | Â | Â | Â |
 summer | 237 (22.7) | 176 (22.9) | 61 (21.9) |  |
 autumn | 278 (26.6) | 202 (26.3) | 76 (27.3) |  |
 winter | 282 (26.9) | 209 (27.2) | 73 (26.3) |  |
 spring | 249 (23.8) | 181 (23.6) | 68 (24.5) | 0.96 |
Waist circumference (cm) | 89.8 ± 13.4 | 85.7 ± 11.3 | 101.2 ± 12.0 |  < 0.001 |
Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 124.1 ± 16.8 | 120.5 ± 16.3 | 134.1 ± 13.9 |  < 0.001 |
Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 78.4 ± 10.8 | 76.3 ± 10.1 | 84.1 ± 10.4 |  < 0.001 |
Fasting glucose (mg/dL) | 92.5 ± 13.2 | 88.6 ± 8.3 | 103.4 ± 17.6 |  < 0.001 |
Triglycerides (mg/dL) | 88 (65 to 118) | 80 (60 to 104) | 123 (89 to 168) |  < 0.001 |
HDL-c (mg/dL) | 57.8 ± 14.2 | 60.9 ± 13.5 | 49.1 ± 12.5 |  < 0.001 |
CCMR (z-score) | 0.00 ± 3.4 | − 1.3 ± 2.7 | 3.6 ± 2.8 |  < 0.001 |
Total body fat (%) | 28.3 ± 8.6 | 26.9 ± 8.5 | 32.1 ± 7.8 |  < 0.001 |
Fasting insulin (μIU/mL) | 6.9 (5.1 to 9.6) | 6.2 (4.7 to 8.0) | 10.9 (7.6 to 14.9) |  < 0.001 |
ApoB/A1 ratio | 0.58 ± 0.17 | 0.56 ± 0.16 | 0.65 ± 0.19 |  < 0.001 |