Baseline characteristics in men and women stratified by SUA quartiles.

Continuous variables are presented as means (SD). Abbreviations: Q1 = lowest quartile: males: <317 µmol/l, females: <280 µmol/l, Q2 = second quartile: males: 317–373 µmol/l, females: 280–336 µmol/l, Q3 = third quartile: males: 373–432 µmol/l, females: 336–395 µmol/l, Q4 = highest quartile males: >432 µmol/l, females: >395 µmol/l. BMI = body mass index. Diast. = diastolic. P-values were obtained by analysis of variance for continuous variables and by Cochran-Armitage trend test for discrete variables. *HbA1c was only measured in diabetics.