Patient characteristics stratified by sex
| All patients (n=158) | Men | Women | P value | Missing % | |
| (n=99) | (n=59) | ||||
| Patient demographics | |||||
| Age, years (median (IQR)) | 61.0 (50.3–68.8) | 62.0 (52.0–69.0) | 57.0 (47.5–66.0) | 0.257 | 0 |
| Height, m (median (IQR)) | 1.79 (1.72–1.87) | 1.85 (1.79–1.90) | 1.70 (1.66–1.75) | <0.001 | 0 |
| Weight, kg (median (IQR)) | 86.0 (76.0–96.0) | 91.0 (83.3–100.0) | 73.0 (65.5–84.5) | <0.001 | 0.6 |
| BSA (mean (SD)) | 2.05 (0.22) | 2.15 (0.19) | 1.87 (0.16) | <0.001 | 0.6 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) (median (IQR)) | 136 (127–147) | 137 (129–148) | 135 (123–146) | 0.429 | 0.6 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) (mean (SD)) | 86 (12) | 87 (11) | 84 (12) | 0.18 | 0.6 |
| Hypertension | 91 (57.6) | 60 (60.6) | 31 (52.5) | 0.368 | 0.6 |
| Hyperlipidaemia | 51 (32.5) | 40 (40.4) | 11 (19.0) | 0.010 | 0.6 |
| Active smoking | 15 (12.9) | 7 (9.6) | 8 (18.6) | 0.266 | 26.6 |
| Diabetes | 6 (3.8) | 5 (5.1) | 1 (1.7) | 0.412* | 0 |
| CVA | 11 (7.0) | 7 (7.1) | 4 (6.8) | 1.000* | 0 |
| COPD | 19 (12.0) | 6 (6.1) | 13 (22.0) | 0.006 | 0 |
| BAV | 6 (3.8) | 6 (6.1) | 0 (0.0) | 0.085* | 0 |
| Renal dysfunction | 5 (3.2) | 3 (3.0) | 2 (3.4) | 1.000* | 0 |
| LVEF† | 0.686* | 34.8 | |||
| Normal | 91 (88.3) | 62 (89.9) | 29 (85.3) | ||
| Slightly reduced | 10 (9.7) | 5 (7.2) | 5 (14.7) | ||
| Moderately reduced | 1 (1.0) | 1 (1.4) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Severely reduced | 1 (1.0) | 1 (1.4) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Medication | 0 | ||||
| Beta blocker use | 55 (34.8) | 40 (40.4) | 15 (25.4) | 0.082 | |
| ARB use | 27 (17.1) | 20 (20.2) | 7 (11.9) | 0.259 | |
| ACEi use | 34 (21.5) | 26 (26.3) | 8 (13.6) | 0.093 | |
| Diuretics | 27 (17.1) | 17 (17.2) | 10 (16.9) | 1.000 | |
| Cholesterol | 46 (29.1) | 35 (35.4) | 11 (18.6) | 0.040 | |
| Antithrombotics | 63 (39.9) | 48 (48.5) | 15 (25.4) | 0.007 | |
| Hereditary TAD diagnosis | 0.091* | 0 | |||
| Loeys-Dietz syndrome | 18 (11.4) | 7 (7.1) | 11 (18.6) | ||
| Marfan syndrome | 11 (7.0) | 9 (9.1) | 2 (3.4) | ||
| Ehlers-Danlos syndrome | 3 (1.9) | 1 (1.0) | 2 (3.4) | ||
| Other | 4 (2.5) | 3 (3.0) | 1 (1.7) | ||
| Positive family history of aortic disease | 66 (41.8) | 39 (39.8) | 27 (45.8) | 0.571 | 0.6 |
| Previous aortic surgery | 30 (19.0) | 20 (20.2) | 10 (16.9) | 0.768 | 0 |
| Previous aortic dissection | 17 (10.8) | 9 (9.1) | 8 (13.6) | 0.541 | 0 |
| Abdominal aortic aneurysm | 11 (7.0) | 9 (9.1) | 2 (3.4) | 0.212* | 0 |
| Peripheral aneurysm | 18 (11.4) | 9 (9.1) | 9 (15.3) | 0.357 | 0 |
| Aortic diameters | |||||
| Maximal diameter thoracic aorta (mm) | 43.2±5.2 | 43.9±5.2 | 41.9±5.1 | 0.030 | 3.8 |
| Indexed diameter thoracic aorta (mm/BSA) | 21.2±2.9 | 20.5±2.9 | 22.5±3.5 | <0.001 | 4.4 |
Normally distributed continuous variables are expressed as mean±SD, skewed continuous variables are expressed as median and 25th–75th percentile, and categorical values are expressed as percentages.
P values of <0.05 are depicted in bold.
*Fisher’s exact test.
†For patients who underwent transthoracic echocardiography.
ACEi, ACE inhibitor; ARB, angiotensin receptor blocker; BAV, bicuspid aortic valve; BSA, body surface area; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CVA, cerebrovascular accident; LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction; TAD, thoracic aortic disease.