Table 2 Baseline characteristics of subjects who reported on use of omega-3 fatty acid supplements, and baseline characteristics of the sub cohorts who reported regular or sporadic use of omega-3 fatty acid supplements and the subjects who reported no use these supplements. P-value reflects between-group differences between regular users, sporadic users and no users. Data are reported as mean (SD) or median (25th, 75th percentile)
All participants (n = 856) | Regular use (n = 274) | Sporadic use (n = 234) | No use (n = 348) | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Age, years | 46.8 (40.3–58.0) | 49.2 (41.8–54.7) | 45.8 (39.1–51.7) | 45.7 (40.0–51.1) | < 0.001 |
Males, n (%) | 656 (76.6) | 194 (70.8) | 182 (77.8) | 280 (80.5) | 0.004 |
BMI, kg/m2 | 25.2 (23.7–27.4) | 25.0 (23.2–26.8) | 25.6 (23.8–27.9) | 25.3 (24.0–27.6) | 0.006 |
Body weight, kg | 81.4 (74.2–89.1) | 79.5 (71.8–87.4) | 82.4 (74.3–90.5) | 82.6 (75.4–89.3) | 0.007 |
Waist circumference, cm | 85.0 (80.0–92.0) | 84.0 (79.3–90.9) | 86.0 (79.0–93.0) | 86.0 (81.0–93.5) | 0.015 |
Systolic blood pressure, mmHg | 136 (126–148) | 136 (127–145) | 136 (126–149) | 137 (126–148) | 0.67 |
Diastolic blood pressure, mmHg | 79 (73–86) | 79 (73–86) | 80 (73–86) | 80 (74–87) | 0.58 |
Resting HR, beats/min | 59 (53–67) | 60 (54–67) | 58 (52–67) | 58 (53–65) | 0.24 |
Current smokers, n (%) | 11 (1.2) | 3 (0.7) | 1 (0.0) | 7 (2.0) | 0.28 |
Framingham risk score, %1 | 1.0 (0–5) | 1 (0–5) | 1 (0–4) | 1 (0–4) | 0.70 |
MET hours per week 2 | 51 (32–78) | 54 (33–83) | 47 (28–75) | 51 (33–75) | 0.009 |
Number of races past 5 y, n | 7 (3–15) | 7 (4–16) | 5 (2–12) | 7 (3–15) | 0.072 |
Higher education, n (%) | 532 (62.1) | 166 (60.6) | 158 (67.5) | 208 (59.8) | 0.16 |
Race performance | |||||
Race duration, h | 3.7 (3.3–4.1) | 3.8 (3.3–4.4) | 3.7 (3.4–4.1) | 3.6 (3.2–4.1) | 0.23 |
Maximal HR during race, bpm 3 | 178 (170–186) | 176 (169–185) | 179 (171–185) | 178 (172–187) | 0.27 |
Maximal HR of estimated maximal HR, % 3 | 100.4 (96.7–104.5) | 100.1 (95.9–104.8) | 100.1 (96.3–103.6) | 100.4 (97.4–105.1) | 0.67 |
Mean HR during race, bpm 3 | 157 (148–165) | 154.0 (145.0–163.0) | 158.0 (150.0–165.0) | 158.0 (149.0–165.0) | 0.051 |
Mean HR of estimated maximal HR, % 3 | 88.5 (84.5–92.5) | 88.3 (83.0–92.3) | 88.2 (84.4–92.5) | 89.0 (85.4–92.7) | 0.33 |
Blood samples at baseline | |||||
BNP, pg/mL | 13.4 (10.0–21.1) | 14.3 (10.0–22.6) | 14.0 (10.0–21.4) | 12.5 (10.0–19.2) | 0.06 |
CRP, mg/L | 0.7 (0.4–1.3) | 0.6 (0.3–1.1) | 0.8 (0.5–1.3) | 0.8 (0.4–1.5) | 0.001 |
Creatinine, umol/L | 83.7 ± 11.8 | 82.4 ± 12.5 | 84.3 ± 11.9 | 84.3 ± 11.1 | 0.051 |
eGFR, mL/min/1.73m2 | 91.2 ± 12.8 | 90.1 ± 13.0 | 91.4 ± 12.9 | 91.8 ± 12.5 | 0.33 |
LDL, mmol/L | 3.2 (2.6–3.7) | 3.1 (2.4–3.8) | 3.2 (2.6–3.7) | 3.2 (2.7–3.8) | 0.20 |
HDL, mmol/L | 1.5 (1.3–1.7) | 1.5 (1.3–1.8) | 1.5 (1.2–1.7) | 1.4 (1.2–1.6) | < 0.001 |
Haemoglobin, g/dL | 14.5 ± 1.0 | 14.4 ± 1.0 | 14.4 ± 1.0 | 14.5 ± 1.0 | 0.04 |