MenWomen
NorwegianSouth AsianNorwegianSouth Asian
Norwegian cohort
N 63851 2398015967
Age (years)43.7 (11.2)41.4 (7.8)43.9 (10.9)40.3 (7.9)
Age range30.0–70.130.0–67.830.0–74.930.0–65.5
TC (mmol/L)5.60 (1.1)5.48 (1.0)5.41 (1.0)4.98 (0.9)
HDL cholesterol (mmol/L1.31 (0.3)1.07 (0.2)1.62 (0.4)1.24 (0.3)
TC/HDL ratio4.55 (1.4)5.33 (1.4)3.52 (1.1)4.22 (1.2)
SBP (mm Hg)132.6 (14.4)126.6 (13.2)124.0 (15.7)119.1 (15.6)
Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg)77.6 (10.8)76.9 (9.8)71.5 (10.3)70.0 (10.1)
Hypertension* (%)30221916
Diabetes (%)1.68.61.410.9
Former smokers (%)2816262
Current smokers (%)2625311
Family history of heart disease§ (%)33243727
Family history of stroke¶ (%)113134
Antihypertensive treatment (%)6869
Lipid-lowering treatment (%)4636
Follow-up time (years)8.44 (1.4)7.65 (1.4)8.54 (1.2)7.88 (1.1)
  • *Hypertension is defined as having SBP ≥140 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mm Hg or using blood pressure medication.

  • †The diabetes variable in the New Zealand data includes people with diabetes of unknown type (5%) and type 2 diabetes (95%), while in the Norwegian data we could not differentiate between different types of diabetes.

  • ‡Family history of CVD in the New Zealand data: self-reported familial history of ischaemic heart disease or ischaemic stroke occurring in a father or brother aged <55 years, or a mother or sister aged <65 years.

  • §Parents or siblings have had heart attack or angina pectoris (self-report).

  • ¶Parents or siblings have had stroke (self-report).

  • Data are mean values (SD) for continuous variables and prevalence (%) for categorical variables.

  • CVD, cardiovascular disease; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; SBP, systolic blood pressure, TC, total cholesterol.