The Association between Bone Quality and Atherosclerosis: Results from Two Large Population-Based Studies
Table 1
Characteristics of the IMT study population.
Characteristics
Risk for osteoporotic fractures—men
Risk for osteoporotic fractures—women
Low ()
Medium ()
High ()
Low ()
Medium ()
High ()
Age, years
52 (41–64)
56 (45–68)
63 (52–71)
<0.01
47 (38–58)
58 (47–67)
67 (59–75)
<0.01
BMI, kg/m2
28.2 (25.8–31.1)
27.8 (25.1–30.5)
27.6 (24.5–30.7)
<0.01
26.5 (23.3–30.8)
26.4 (23.3–30.3)
26.7 (23.7–29.5)
0.59
Current smoker, %
24.1
31.6
38.5
<0.01
26.1
21.4
17.5
<0.01
Physically inactive, %
48.6
57.8
63.9
<0.01
51.1
48.2
50.3
0.35
Risky alcohol consumption, %
13.3
16.1
20.5
0.02
3.0
2.6
2.7
0.81
25OHD, ng/ml
23.4 (17.9–29.6)
22.7 (16.9–28.2)
20.4 (16.2–28.9)
0.08
22.4 (16.4–29.8)
22.8 (16.8–29.2)
20.5 (15.0–28.1)
0.25
Diabetes mellitus, %
12.8
16.5
14.8
0.04
8.8
11.4
16.4
<0.01
Dyslipidemia, %
67.4
71.4
71.3
0.10
48.6
58.5
67.7
<0.01
Hypertension, %
71.1
74.3
75.4
0.18
43.2
55.5
72.0
<0.01
BUA, dB/MHz
123 (116–131)
105 (101–109)
94 (89–97)
<0.01
116 (109–125)
99 (94–103)
86 (82–90)
<0.01
SOS, m/s
1576 (1560–1597)
1532 (1521–1543)
1500 (1489–1509)
<0.01
1576 (1562–1597)
1539 (1528–1548)
1509 (1499–1516)
<0.01
Stiffness index
103 (95–114)
80 (75–84)
63 (58–66)
<0.01
99 (91–110)
77 (73–81)
61 (57–64)
<0.01
Osteoporosis, %†
1.3
2.9
8.2
<0.01
1.9
8.5
21.7
<0.01
IMT, cm
0.61 (0.51–0.73)
0.63 (0.54–0.75)
0.66 (0.56–0.80)
<0.01
0.54 (0.48–0.64)
0.61 (0.51–0.71)
0.68 (0.57–0.78)
<0.01
Plaques, %
43.1
55.2
77.1
<0.01
28.3
44.0
64.6
<0.01
Number of arterial segments with plaque
0 (0–2)
1 (0–2)
2 (1–3)
<0.01
0 (0-1)
0 (0–2)
1 (0–2)
<0.01
BMI: body mass index; BUA: broadband ultrasound attenuation; SOS: speed of sound; IMT: intima-media thickness; 25OHD: 25-hydroxy vitamin D. Data are median (1st–3rd quartiles) or proportions. Group differences were tested with the Kruskal-Wallis or chi-squared tests. 25OHD: men—1013 missing, women—1127 missing. †Self-reported osteoporosis: men—51 missing, women—63 missing.
