Table 1 Patient characteristics for the total population and according to the presence of the metabolic syndrome

Age (years)

48.4 ± 10.7

48.5 ± 10.5

48.3 ± 10.8

0.76

Gender (%, female)

65.2

48.0

74.9

< 0.001

Waist circumference (cm)

   - Female

97.7 ± 8.1

100.3 ± 9.2

96.7 ± 7.4

< 0.001

   - Male

109.7 ± 6.6

110.5 ± 6.9

108.9 ± 6.3

0.01

BMI (kg/m²)

29.5 ± 3.6

30.3 ± 3.6

29.1 ± 3.5

< 0.001

Blood pressure (mmHg)

   - Systolic

137.7 ± 17.3

144.8 ± 15.8

133.7 ± 16.8

< 0.001

   - Diastolic

84.8 ± 9.3

88.7 ± 7.9

82.7 ± 9.3

< 0.001

Triglycerides (mmol/L)

1.2 (0.9-1.8)

1.9 (1.7-2.4)

1.0 (0.8-1.3)

< 0.001

HDL cholesterol (mmol/L)

   - Female

1.6 ± 0.4

1.3 ± 0.3

1.7 ± 0.4

< 0.001

   - Male

1.2 ± 0.3

1.1 ± 0.3

1.4 ± 0.2

< 0.001

LDL cholesterol (mmol/L)

3.2 ± 0.9

3.4 ± 0.9

3.2 ± 0.8

< 0.001

Fasting glucose (mmol/L)

5.0 ± 0.9

5.4 ± 1.4

4.9 ± 0.5

< 0.001

Hs-CRP (mg/L)

1.9 (1.1-3.6)

2.2 (1.2-4.0)

1.7 (1.0-3.4)

< 0.001

Physical activity meeting Dutch

59.5

56.1

61.3

0.09

Standard Healthy Movement^‡ (%)

Current smoking (%)

20.3

24.6

17.9

0.01

Alcohol consumption (%)

0.03

   - None

28.3

31.1

26.7

   - Moderate

64.5

59.8

67.1

   - Excessive

7.2

9.2

6.2