Understanding socioeconomic differences in metabolic syndrome remission among adults: what is the mediating role of health behaviors?

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the study population

Characteristics	Study population (n = 16,818)^a	Missing values (%)
Demographic
Age (years), mean (SD)	53.4 (12.1)	0
Sex (female)	48.5	0
Socioeconomic
Education (years), mean (SD)	11.3 (2.5)	3.0
Low^b	44.6
Middle^b	32.7
High^b	19.7
Occupational prestige (SIOPS08), mean (SD)	41.7 (13.3)	6.3
Household equivalized income (euros), mean (SD)	1563.3 (561.3)	20.3
Metabolic syndrome indicators, meeting condition^c
Waist circumference^d	79.1	0
Triglyceride level^e	76.9	0
HDL cholesterol^f	69.5	0
Blood pressure^g	76.6	0
Glucose level^h	49.3	0.8
Health behaviors
Physical activityⁱ	53.5	11.8
Smoking		3.8
Never	35.2
Past	41.3
Current	19.7
Alcohol intake^j		5.2
None	23.0
Moderate	35.8
Excessive	36.0
Diet quality^k		15.2
Poor	7.5
Moderate	69.2
High	8.2

SD Standard deviation, SIOPS08 Standard International Occupational Prestige Scale 2008, HDL High-density lipoprotein, LLDS Lifelines Diet Score; ^a % presented, unless indicated otherwise; ^b Categories according to Dutch Standard Education Format [34]; ^c According to definition of metabolic syndrome by NCEP ATP III; ^d ≥ 102 cm in male or ≥ 88 cm in female; ^e ≥ 1.70 mmol/l or use of medication for elevated triglycerides; ^f < 1.0 mmol/L in male, < 1.3 mmol/L in female or use of lipid-lowering medication; ^g Systolic blood pressure ≥ 130 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure ≥ 85 mmHg or use of blood pressure-lowering medication; ^h Fasting blood glucose level ≥ 5.6 mmol/l, diagnosis of type 2 diabetes or use of blood glucose-lowering medication; ⁱ Complies with norm of at least 30 min of moderately intensive exercise at least 5 days a week; ^j ‘none’ alcohol intake 0 glasses, ‘moderate’ alcohol intake ≤1 glass per day on average, without binge drinking (i.e., >3 glasses on one day for females and >4 glasses on one day for males), or ‘excessive’ alcohol intake >1 glass per day on average, or binge drinking; ^k According to Lifelines Diet Score: ‘poor’ diet quality (LLDS 1–16), ‘moderate’ diet quality (LLDS 17–32) or ‘high’ diet quality (LLDS 33–48)

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