Table 1 Demographic and clinical characteristics of participants at baseline.

Age (years), mean (SD)

59.1 (9.3)

56.6 (10.3)

 < 0.001

Male, n (%)

536 (50.0)

358 (46.4)

0.068

Smoking status, n(%)

Active smoker

182 (17.0)

170 (22.0)

0.003

Ex-smoker

409 (38.2)

244 (31.6)

Never smoker

481 (44.9)

358 (46.4)

Regular physical activity, n(%)

575 (53.7)

428 (55.4)

0.249

High-risk alcohol consumption, n(%)

140 (13.1)

83 (10.8)

0.078

Adherence Mediterranean diet score, n(%)

564 (52.6)

370 (47.9)

0.026

Daily consumption of fruit or vegetables, n(%)

919 (85.7)

653 (84.6)

0.269

Metabolic syndrome, n(%)

559 (52.1)

96 (12.4)

 < 0.001

Waist circumference (cm), mean (SD)

100.1 (12.3)

93.0 (11.8)

 < 0.001

BMI (kg/m²), mean (SD)

29.9 (4.8)

27.4 (4.4)

 < 0.001

Fasting plasma glucose (mg/dL), mean (SD)

105.2 (10.9)

87.0 (7.2)

 < 0.001

HbA1c (%), mean (SD)

5.8 (0.3)

5.3 (0.3)

 < 0.001

Hemoglobin (g/dL), n(%)

 ≥ 13.0

975 (91.0)

665 (86.1)

0.005

12.9–11.0

91 (8.5)

102 (13.2)

 ≤ 10.9

6 (0.6)

5 (0.6)

Hypertension, n(%)

708 (66.0)

359 (46.5)

 < 0.001

SBP (mmHg), mean (SD)

134.6 (16.0)

128.3 (15.3)

 < 0.001

DBP (mmHg), mean (SD)

81.2 (9.4)

79.0 (9.5)

 < 0.001

Total colesterol (mg/dL), mean (SD)

209.9 (37.4)

211.0 (37.5)

0.532

HDL-cholesterol (mg/dL), mean (SD)

54.4 (14.3)

58.5 (15.6)

 < 0.001

Non HDL-cholesterol (mg/dL), mean (SD)

129.6 (33.9)

129.8 (32.2)

0.899

Triglycerides (mg/dL), mean (SD)

132.3 (71.7)

114.4 (75.6)

 < 0.001

Use of ACEIs or ARBs, n(%)

396 (36.9)

182 (23.6)

 < 0.001

Creatinine(mg/dL), mean (SD)

0.8 (0.2)

0.8 (0.2)

0.760

eGFR (mL/min per 1.73 m²), mean (SD)

89.1 (13.7)

90.4 (13.4)

0.060