Table 1 Baseline characteristics. Data are expressed as mean +/- S.D. (for normal distribution), medians [25th -75th percentiles] or % of the population. Groups were compared with a student’s test or Kruskall-Wallis non-parametric test; qualitative data were compared using chi-squared or Fischer’s test

Age (years)

74.0 [62.2;79.0]

72.0 [65.0;78.0]

0.766

Gender (M/F)

72/26

77/24

0.653

BMI (kg/m²)

26.0 [23.0;28.0]

27.4 [25.0;30.0]

0.001

Active Smoking

28 (28.6%)

24 (23.8%)

0.440

Hypertension/antihypertensive drugs

80 (81.6%)

95 (94.1%)

0.007

Renal insufficiency

11 (11.2%)

12 (11.9%)

0.885

Diabetic treatment

No treatment or MHD

9 (10%)

-

Biguanid

41 (45%)

-

Sulfonylurea

12 (13%)

-

Insulin

16 (17%)

-

DDP-4 inhibitor

5 (5.4%)

-

other

4 (4.4%)

Hypolipidemic treatment

Statin

53 (57%)

58 (63%)

Symptomatic lesions

38 (38.8%)

42 (41.6%)

0.686

Hyperechoic

29 (29.6%)

36 (35.6%)

0.632

Hypoechoic

18 (18.4%)

15 (14.9%)

0.505

NASCET

75.0 [65.0;85.0]

80.0[70.0;87.0]

0.005

Plaque Ulceration

13 (13.3%)

15 (14.9%)

0.748

Calcifications

0.104

1

14 (14.3%)

17 (16.8%)

2

75 (76.5%)

65 (64.4%)

3

9 (9.2%)

19 (18.8%)

HbA1c

5.74 [5.48;5.97]

6.79 [6.34;7.48]

<0.001

Creatinine.µmol/L

74.9 [60.9;89.0]

71.8 [57.4;85.4]

0.305

Total cholesterol mmol/L

3.88 [3.24;4.44]

3.56 [2.83;4.21]

0.043

Triglycerides mmol/L

1.36 [0.94;1.82]

1.67 [1.14;2.36]

0.017

LDLc mmol/L

2.04 [1.49;2.66]

1.98 [1.46;2.54]

0.407

HDLc mmol/L

1.13 (0.34)

0.96 (0.28)

<0.001

Hemoglobin (g/dl) (M)

12.8 [11.6;14.4]

13.2 [11.2;13.9]

0.540

Hemoglobin (g/dl) (F)

13.1 [11.7;14.4]

12.3 [10.6;15.2]

0.582

Erythrocytes (10¹²/L) (M)

4.28 [3.86;4.70]

4.27 [3.68;4.55]

0.582

Erythrocytes (10¹²/L) (F)

4.21 [3.79;4.78]

4.16 [3.60;4.63]

0.644

Platelets (10⁹/L)

220 [181;253]

229 [188;284]

0.261

Neutrophils(10⁹/L)

5.54 [4.52;7.51]

6.61 [4.83;8.72]

0.058

Lymphocytes (10⁹/L)

1.76 [1.34;2.43]

1.69 [1.23;2.15]

0.482

Monocytes (10⁹/L)

0.76 [0.59;0.94]

0.82 [0.64;0.99]

0.225