Characteristics of the study population stratified by diabetes status
| All N=388 | Control participants n=239 | Participants with pre-diabetes n=98 | Participants with diabetes n=51 | P value* | |
| WMH | 249 (64.2%) | 139 (58.2%) | 69 (70.4%) | 41 (80.4%) | 0.004 |
| WMH volume (mm3) | 1755.4 (±5920.4) | 996.4 (±2689.4) | 2602.6 (±5931.6) | 3684.2 (±12675) | 0.003 |
| Age (years) | 56.3 (±9.2) | 54.2 (±8.8) | 58.4 (±8.8) | 62 (±8.1) | <0.001 |
| Male gender | 222 (57.2%) | 123 (51.5%) | 62 (63.3%) | 37 (72.6%) | 0.008 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 28 (±4.7) | 26.6 (±4.1) | 30.4 (±4.7) | 30.1 (±5) | <0.001 |
| Hypertension† | 129 (33.3%) | 49 (20.5%) | 44 (44.9%) | 36 (70.6%) | <0.001 |
| Systolic BP (mm Hg) | 120.4 (±16.7) | 116.7 (±15) | 124 (±15) | 131.3 (±21) | <0.001 |
| Diastolic BP (mm Hg) | 75.3 (±10) | 73.7 (±9.2) | 77.6 (±9.6) | 78.2 (±12.7) | <0.001 |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dL) | 218.1 (±35.8) | 216.5 (±35.3) | 222.9 (±31) | 216.8 (±45.5) | 0.317 |
| HDL (mg/dL) | 62.3 (±17.6) | 65.5 (±17.9) | 58.6 (±14) | 54.6 (±18.5) | <0.001 |
| LDL-C (mg/dL) | 139.7 (±32.3) | 138.6 (±31.5) | 143.8 (±29.4) | 136.8 (±40.2) | 0.319 |
| Triglycerides (mg/dL) | 129.7 (±82) | 107.1 (±63.8) | 151.5 (±81.7) | 193.4 (±110.6) | <0.001 |
| HbA1c (%) | 5.6 (±0.7) | 5.3 (±0.3) | 5.6 (±0.3) | 6.6 (±1.4) | <0.001 |
| Fasting serum glucose (mg/dL) | 103.9±22.5 | 94.6±7.3 | 106.8±10.2 | 143.7±38.9 | <0.001 |
| Glucose after 2-hour OGTT (mg/dL) | 112.9 (±40.9) | 94.3 (±20.3) | 140.4 (±29.9) | 216.7 (±64.3) | <0.001 |
| Smoking status | 0.211 | ||||
| Never smoker | 143 (36.9%) | 94 (39.3%) | 32 (32.7%) | 17 (33.3%) | |
| Former smoker | 167 (43%) | 92 (38.5%) | 48 (49%) | 27 (52.9%) | |
| Current smoker | 78 (20.1%) | 53 (22.2%) | 18 (18.4%) | 7 (13.7%) | |
| Pack years | 12.8 (±18.8) | 11.1 (±16) | 13.9 (±17.9) | 19 (±29) | 0.021 |
| Physical activity in categories | 0.003 | ||||
| 1=regularly more than 2 hours/week | 112 (28.9%) | 79 (33.1%) | 26 (26.5%) | 7 (13.7%) | |
| 2=regularly ca. 1 hour/week | 120 (30.9%) | 78 (32.6%) | 32 (32.7%) | 10 (19.6%) | |
| 3=irregularly ca. 1 hour/week | 57 (14.7%) | 29 (12.1%) | 14 (14.3%) | 14 (27.5%) | |
| 4=little or no physical activity | 99 (25.5%) | 53 (22.2%) | 26 (26.5%) | 20 (39.2%) | |
| Alcohol | 0.586 | ||||
| No consumption | 93 (24%) | 58 (24.3%) | 21 (21.4%) | 14 (27.5%) | |
| <20 g/day | 152 (39.2%) | 100 (41.8%) | 35 (35.7%) | 17 (33.3%) | |
| 20–40 g/day | 75 (19.3%) | 45 (18.8%) | 19 (19.4%) | 11 (21.6%) | |
| >40 g/day | 68 (17.5%) | 36 (15.1%) | 23 (23.5%) | 9 (17.7%) |
Data are means and SD for continuous variables and counts and percentages for categorical variables.
*P values are from one-way analysis of variance and χ2 test, respectively.
†Hypertension was defined as systolic BP of ≥140 mm Hg, diastolic BP of ≥90 mm Hg and/or use of antihypertensive medication, given that the individuals were aware of being hypertensive.
BMI, Body Mass Index; BP, blood pressure; HbA1c, glycated hemoglobin; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; OGTT, oral glucose tolerance test; WMH, white matter hyperintensity.