Table 1: Baseline characteristics of the study sample.
| Variable | Cases N = 85 | Controls N = 82 | p |
| Sex (men), % | 52.9 | 52.4 | 0.99 |
| Age (yrs), mean ± SD | 69.0 ± 12.3 | 67.2 ± 9.4 | 0.28 |
| Weight (Kg), mean ± SD | 75.2 ± 13.3 | 78.4 ± 14.9 | 0.15 |
| Height (cm), mean ± SD | 162.0 ± 8.9 | 162.1 ± 9.9 | 0.97 |
| BMI (Kg/m2), mean ± SD | 28.6 ± 4.6 | 29.8 ± 4.9 | 0.11 |
| Current smoker, % | 9.4 | 20.7 | 0.07 |
| Alcohol, % | 24.7 | 18.3 | 0.41 |
| Hypertension, % | 75.3 | 52.4 | 0.002 |
| Dyslipidemia, % | 62.4 | 46.3 | 0.044 |
| Diabetes, % | 25.9 | 9.8 | 0.008 |
| HDL cholesterol (mg/dl), mean ± SD | 56.6 ± 14.5 | 58.2 ± 12.8 | 0.26 |
| GFR, ml/min/1.73 m2, median [IQR] | 82.4 [69.6-91.7] | 88.2 [75.3-94.6] | 0.04 |
| Stroke, % | 4.7 | 6.2 | 0.74 |
| Ischemic heart disease, % | 4.7 | 4.9 | 0.99 |
| Peripheral arterial disease, % | 4.7 | 3.7 | 0.99 |
| DVT/PE, % | 0.0 | 3.7 | 0.11 |
| ASA, % | 14.3 | 19.0 | 0.92 |
| Oral anticoagulants, % | 7.1 | 8.6 | 0.95 |
| Homocysteine (µmol/L), median [IQR] | 15.1 [11.4-19.6] | 11.2 [9.0-14.6] | < 0.0001 |
| Homocysteine > 15 µmol/L, % | 50.6 | 23.2 | < 0.0001 |
SD: Standard deviation; BMI: Body mass index; HDL: High density lipoprotein; GFR: Glomerular filtration rate (CKD-EPI equations); DVT: Deep venous thrombosis; PE: Pulmonary embolism; ASA: Acetylsalicylic acid; IQR: Interquartile range.