Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the whole population, reported as number (%) or median (interquartile range)

Age (years)

65 (60–69)

63 (57–67)

< 0.001

Smoking, yes

126 (48)

559 (50)

0.005

Index MI, yes

126 (47)

570 (50)

0.35

Glycaemic states

-

-

0.06

 NGT

183 (68)

715 (63)

0.77

 IFG

16 (6)

131 (12)

5.20

 IGT

49 (18)

197 (17)

0.09

 Newly detected T2DM

20 (8)

92 (8)

0.09

Medical History

Hypertension, yes

84 (32)

343 (30)

0.66

Known family history of CVD*, yes

95 (35)

336 (30)

0.18

Anthropometrics - vitals

BMI (kg/m²)

25.7 (23–29)

26.6 (24.5–28.9)

0.001

Obesity, yes

52 (20)

194 (17)

0.36

Waist circumference (cm)

90 (83–100)

100 (93–106)

< 0.001

Systolic blood pressure (mmHg)

133 (120–145)

130 (120–140)

0.20

Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg)

80 (70–86)

80 (74–87)

0.05

Heart rate (bpm)

72 (60–83)

72 (63–85)

0.21

Laboratory

Total cholesterol (mmol/L)

5 (4–6)

4.6 (3.7–5.6)

< 0.001

HDL-C (mmol/L)

1.6 (1.3–1.9)

1.2 (1.1–1.5)

< 0.001

Triglycerides (mmol/L)

1.1 (0.8–1.4)

1.2 (0.9–1.6)

0.005

hsCRP (mg/L)

1.4 (0.7-3)

1.3 (0.7–2.4)

0.07

Creatinine (µmol/L)

68 (60–74)

83 (76–92)

< 0.001

eGFR (mL/min/1.73m²)

82.9 (73.6–93.2)

86.7 (76.3–94.2)

0.009

Fasting plasma glucose (mmol/L)

5.3 (4.9–5.8)

5.6 (5.1–6.1)

< 0.001

2 h post-load glucose (mmol/L)

6 (4.9–7.8)

6.2 (5-7.6)

0.72

HbA1c (mmol/mol)

38 (35.5–41)

38 (35–41)

0.28

Fasting plasma insulin (mU/L)

9.8 (7.1–13.5)

11 (7.6–16.6)

< 0.001

Insulin resistance indexes

HOMA-IR

2.3 (1.6–3.3)

2.7 (1.8–4.3)

< 0.001

VAI

0.9 (0.6–1.4)

1.3 (0.9–1.9)

< 0.001

TG/HDL-C

1.5 (1.1–2.4)

2.1 (1.4–3.2)

< 0.001

TyG

8.4 (8.1–8.7)

8.5 (8.2–8.9)

< 0.001

Pharmacological treatment

Beta-blockers, yes

131 (49)

576 (51)

0.58

Renin-angiotensin inhibitors, yes

125 (47)

613 (55)

0.03

Calcium-antagonist, yes

30 (11)

124 (11)

0.90

Diuretics, yes

24 (9)

85 (8)

0.42

Statins, yes

137 (51)

621 (55)

0.28