Table 1

Characteristics of participants by race/ethnicity in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis 2000–2012*

Allnon-Hispanic whiteChinese-AmericanAfrican-AmericanHispanic-American
Characteristic† (n=5829)n=5829n=2425n=691n=1503n=1210
Age61.8 (10.3)62.4 (10.3)61.8 (10.4)61.7 (10.2)60.6 (10.4)
Female53.6%52.9%52.0%56.2%52.6%
Education ≥bachelor's degree37.3%50.6%39.8%35.8%11.2%
Occupation, full-time employment40.0%40.8%37.5%40.6%39.1%
Current smoking14.5%13.6%5.5%19.6%14.9%
Current alcohol use58.1%73.2%32.3%52.0%50.0%
Exercise PA (MET-hours/week)26.4 (39.4)28.3 (38.4)19.4 (25.8)29.5 (47.8)22.6 (35.2)
Moderate–vigorous PA (MET-hours/week)97.2 (99.3)95.6 (90.6)62.8 (61.9)110.5 (118.8)103.3 (102.0)
Any vigorous PA32.8%40.6%24.8%29.3%26.4%
Leisure sedentary behavior (hours/day)3.4 (2.2)3.4 (2.2)2.9 (1.7)3.9 (2.4)2.9 (1.9)
TV watching (hours/day)2.1 (1.5)1.9 (1.5)1.7 (1.2)2.5 (1.7)2.0 (1.5)
Activity score‡4.0 (1.6)4.0 (1.6)3.8 (1.5)3.9 (1.6)4.3 (1.7)
Walking pace§
 Walking <2 mph25.8%19.8%21.3%36.1%27.6%
 Average pace50.6%50.9%61.5%41.2%55.6%
 Walking ≥4 mph23.6%29.3%17.2%22.7%16.8%
Body mass index (kg/m2)28.0 (5.3)27.5 (5.0)23.9 (3.3)29.8 (5.9)29.0 (4.8)
Waist circumference (cm)97.1 (14.1)97.3 (14.2)86.6 (10.0)99.9 (14.5)99.4 (12.6)
Hypertension medication33.3%31.1%25.3%45.4%27.2%
SBP (mm Hg)125.6 (21.2)123.0 (20.3)123.8 (21.7)130.8 (21.5)125.4 (21.5)
DBP (mm Hg)71.9 (10.3)70.2 (10.0)72.0 (10.4)74.6 (10.2)71.8 (10.1)
Glucose (mg/dL)89.6 (10.5)87.9 (10.1)91.5 (9.9)90.3 (10.7)90.9 (10.8)
Impaired fasting glucose (100–125 mg/dL)15.6%11.8%19.4%17.6%18.5%
HOMA-IR2.1 (1.4)1.9 (1.3)2.0 (1.2)2.2 (1.5)2.4 (1.6)
Family history of diabetes¶34.4%29.2%25.6%42.0%40.7%
Incident diabetes**11.4 (10.6, 12.3)8.1 (7.0, 9.3)11.5 (9.2, 14.3)14.1 (12.3, 16.2)15.3 (13.2, 17.7)
  • *Mean (SD) or percentages are listed. PA in (MET-hours/week), unless noted.

  • †All comparisons among racial/ethnic groups p<0.001 except sex.

  • ‡PA score was created by coding quartiles of moderate-to-vigorous PA 1 (lowest quartile) to 4 (highest quartile) and reverse coding leisure sedentary behavior 3 (lowest quartile) to 0 (highest quartile).

  • §n=5823 participants.

  • ¶n=5350 participants.

  • **Incident diabetes rate per 1000 person-years.

  • DBP, diastolic blood pressure; HOMA-IR, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance; MET, metabolic equivalents of task; PA, physical activity; SBP, systolic blood pressure; TV, television.