Table 1

Characteristics of patients with a first myocardial infarction and control women

Characteristic
Patients (N = 152)
Control women (N = 568)

Age – yr (SD)
42.1 (0.5)
38.6 (0.3)
Caucasian ethnicity (%)
142 (93)
538 (95)
Educational level


- Primary school or less (%)
83 (55)
160 (28)
- Secondary school (%)
52 (34)
257 (45)
- Higher education or university (%)
17 (11)
149 (26)
Current smokers (%)
128 (84)
218 (39)
History of hypertension (%)
35 (23)
35 (6)
History of hypercholesterolemia (%)
16 (11)
14 (3)
History of diabetes (%)
8 (5)
7 (1)
Family history of cardiovascular disease (%)
98 (66)
194 (36)
Birth weight-gram


- Mean (SD)
3214 (676)
3370 (659)
- Median (range)
3150 (1500–5010)
3500 (1500–5800)
Body Mass Index – kg/m2 – Mean (SD)
25.1 (0.4)
23.4 (0.2)
Waist circumference – cm (SD)
89.5 (13.1)
83.0 (10.2)
Waist/hip ratio (SD)
0.85 (0.006)
0.81 (0.008)
Premenopausal (%)
132 (87)
480 (85)

Tanis et al. Reproductive Health 2005 2:1   doi:10.1186/1742-4755-2-1