Table 1 Descriptive characteristics for adults aged 40 to 65 years (N = 8194) in the national health and nutritional examination survey, United States, 1999-2008 a
| Â | Â | Blood lead quintile | Â | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Characteristic | Total | Quintile 1 | Quintile 2 | Quintile 3 | Quintile 4 | Quintile 5 | Â |
|  | (N = 8194) | (N = 1411) | (N = 1510) | (N = 1608) | (N = 1638) | (N = 2027) |  |
Blood lead (μg/dL); geometric mean (GSE) | 1.69 (0.02) | 0.76 (0.01) | 1.25 (0.00) | 1.67 (0.00) | 2.25 (0.01) | 3.88 (0.03) | ** |
 Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg); mean (SE) | 124.33 (0.30) | 122.23 (0.55) | 122.43 (0.53) | 124.59 (0.49) | 125.48 (0.57) | 126.92 (0.62) | ** |
 Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg); mean (SE) | 74.81 (0.20) | 74.30 (0.37) | 74.16 (0.38) | 74.99 (0.32) | 74.96 (0.32) | 75.65 (0.34) | ** |
Elevated blood pressure, % (SE) | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
Systolic > 140 mm Hg | 16.4 (0.6) | 13.9 (1.2) | 13.3 (1.1) | 15.9 (1.2) | 17.5 (1.0) | 21.4 (1.4) | ** |
Diastolic > 90 mm Hg | 7.8 (0.5) | 5.5 (0.7) | 6.5 (0.8) | 8.1 (0.9) | 9.2 (0.9) | 9.6 (0.8) | ** |
Age (years), mean (SE) | 50.9 (0.15) | 48.4 (0.22) | 50.0 (0.25) | 51.3 (0.27) | 52.2 (0.26) | 52.6 (0.21) | ** |
Male sex, % (SE) | 49.1 (0.6) | 25.1 (1.7) | 39.3 (1.5) | 51.8 (1.4) | 59.0 (1.5) | 70.5 (1.5) | ** |
Race/Ethnicity, % (SE) | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | ** |
 Non-Hispanic White | 75.7 (1.3) | 80.1 (1.6) | 77.9 (1.7) | 77.6 (1.4) | 74.5 (1.6) | 68.3 (2.1) |  |
 Non-Hispanic Black | 9.7 (0.8) | 6.7 (0.7) | 8.3 (0.8) | 8.8 (0.9) | 9.9 (0.9) | 14.8 (1.4) |  |
 Mexican American | 5.7 (0.6) | 5.3 (0.7) | 5.2 (0.6) | 5.5 (0.7) | 5.4 (0.6) | 7.2 (0.9) |  |
 Other Hispanic | 4.2 (0.6) | 4.0 (0.7) | 4.6 (1.1) | 4.4 (0.9) | 4.1 (0.7) | 4.1 (0.9) |  |
 Other | 4.7 (0.4) | 3.9 (0.7) | 4.0 (0.7) | 3.7 (0.6) | 6.1 (0.9) | 5.6 (0.8) |  |
Educational attainment, % (SE) | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | ** |
 Less than 9th grade | 5.4 (0.4) | 3.2 (0.4) | 4.2 (0.5) | 5.7 (0.7) | 5.6 (0.6) | 8.3 (0.7) |  |
 9th - 12th grade (no diploma) | 10.9 (0.5) | 7.4 (0.9) | 9.1 (0.8) | 8.7 (0.9) | 12.1 (0.9) | 17.3 (1.2) |  |
 High school graduate or equivalent | 24.6 (0.8) | 22.7(1.5) | 22.9 (1.5) | 24.6 (1.4) | 26.0 (1.5) | 26.7 (1.4) |  |
 Some college or associates (AA) degree | 30.6 (0.8) | 32.0 (1.5) | 30.3 (1.7) | 32.1 (1.3) | 29.5 (1.6) | 29.3 (1.1) |  |
 College graduate or above | 28.5 (1.2) | 34.7 (2.0) | 33.5 (2.0) | 28.9 (1.9) | 26.9 (1.7) | 18.3 (1.4) |  |
Marital status, % (SE) | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | ** |
 Married or living with partner | 73.2 (0.8) | 75.6 (1.6) | 75.6 (1.2) | 72.6 (1.4) | 71.4 (1.5) | 70.8 (1.4) |  |
 Divorced, separated, or widowed | 19.9 (0.7) | 17.5 (1.4) | 18.3 (1.2) | 20.0 (1.2) | 22.2 (1.4) | 21.6 (1.3) |  |
 Never married | 6.9 (0.4) | 6.9 (0.8) | 6.1 (0.8) | 7.4 (0.9) | 6.4 (0.7) | 7.7 (0.8) |  |
Smoking status, % (SE) | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | ** |
 Never | 47.2 (0.8) | 69.1 (1.5) | 56.4 (1.6) | 45.4 (1.7) | 36.3 (1.6) | 28.9 (1.3) |  |
 Former | 28.9 (0.7) | 23.4 (1.3) | 27.4 (1.5) | 31.6 (1.4) | 31.0 (1.3) | 31.1 (1.4) |  |
 Current | 23.9 (0.8) | 7.4 (0.8) | 16.2 (1.1) | 23.0 (1.5) | 32.7 (1.8) | 40.0 (1.4) |  |
Alcohol consumption, % (SE) | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | ** |
 None | 25.5 (1.0) | 36.9 (2.0) | 30.0 (1.6) | 22.1 (1.3) | 21.8 (1.3) | 16.6 (1.2) |  |
 Less than 1 drink per week | 34.8 (0.9) | 39.9 (1.7) | 36.6 (1.5) | 34.8 (1.6) | 31.3 (1.4) | 31.5 (1.6) |  |
 1 to 3 drinks per week | 11.4 (0.5) | 12.6 (1.1) | 13.0 (1.1) | 13.0 (1.0) | 10.4 (0.9) | 8.1 (0.7) |  |
 3 or more drinks per week | 28.3 (0.9) | 10.6 (1.2) | 20.4 (1.3) | 30.2 (1.7) | 36.6 (1.5) | 43.8 (1.7) |  |
Use of antihypertensive medication, % (SE) | 23.5 (0.7) | 26.3 (1.5) | 22.4 (1.5) | 21.9 (1.3) | 23.1 (1.3) | 23.7 (1.4) | Â |