Demographic data
A total of 454 female (46.9%) and 513 male (53.1%) were included in the study. The mean age of the study population (n= 967) was 33.6±12. The patients were grouped by age according to decades (4 groups). The number of the healthy participants above 50 years of age was lower compared to 3 other groups; therefore it was classified as a single group.
The age of the study population was most commonly distributed between 18-29 (35.2%) and 30-39 (32.4%) years. With increasing decades, the mean height of the volunteers was progressively decreased whereas weight, body mass index (BMI), systolic and diastolic blood pressures, serum creatinine levels, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels demonstrated a highly significant rise. Table 1 summarizes the demographic data of each group.