Table 6. Baseline characteristics of the 107 men who developed the metabolic syndrome during follow-up and the 505 men who did not.

At 4-year

follow-up

Metabolic syndrome -

Metabolic syndrome +

P

N

505

107

Age, y

50.9 (6.6)

52.7 (6.1)

0.005*

Cardiovascular disease,%

29

44

0.001

Smokers,%

33

31

0.70

Blood pressure medication,%

11

31

<0.001

Systolic blood pressure, mmHg

128.8 (14.0)

135.3 (15.6)

<0.001

Diastolic blood pressure, mmHg

85.6 (9.7)

90.6 (8.9)

<0.001

BMI, kg·m-2

25.5 (3.2)

28.0 (4.4)

<0.001

Waist-to-hip ratio

0.92 (0.06)

0.96 (0.05)

<0.001

Serum HDL cholesterol, mmol·l-1

1.36 (0.30)

1.23 (0.26)

<0.001

Serum triglycerides, mmol·l-1

1.14 (0.56)

1.48 (0.96)

<0.001

Fasting blood glucose, mmol·l-1

4.4 (0.4)

4.6 (0.4)

0.002

Fasting serum insulin, pmol·L-1

56.3 (18.1)

73.6 (22.9)

<0.001

VO2max, ml·kg-1·min-1

33.6 (7.9)

28.5 (7.2)

<0.001

Total LTPA, min·wk-1

393 (231 – 618)

320 (164 – 501)

0.006

LTPA <4.5 METs§, min·wk-1

195 (84 – 370)

143 (58 – 303)

0.032

LTPA ³ 4.5 METs, min·wk-1

147 (63 – 255)

121 (43 – 211)

0.030

LTPA ³ 7.5 METs, min·wk-1

31 (7 – 91)

12 (0 – 42)

<0.001

Values are means (SD) except for LTPA variables, which are presented as medians and interquartile ranges. *Mann-Whitney U-test.
†VO2max, maximal oxygen uptake.
‡LTPA, leisure-time physical activity.
§METs, metabolic equivalents.