Table 2 Demographic characteristics stratified by FFAs tertiles (mmol/L)

 Age, years

57.19 ± 9.27

55.81 ± 12.01

59.53 ± 10.17

0.045

 Male, n (%)

65(60.7)

67(69.8)

64(64.6)

0.402

 BMI, kg/m²

26.09 ± 3.03

27.00 ± 3.42

26.20 ± 2.95

0.092

 Family history of CAD, n (%)

14(13.1)

18(18.8)

10(10.1)

0.173

 HTN, n (%)

76(71.0)

66(68.8)

75(75.8)

0.538

 CAD, n (%)

71(66.4)

72(75.0)

89(89.9)

< 0.001

 Stroke, n (%)

6(5.6)

5(5.2)

6(6.1)

0.972

 Smoking, n (%)

53(49.5)

54(56.3)

47(47.5)

0.516

 Alcohol drinker, n (%)

36(33.6)

33(34.4)

33(33.3)

0.993

 Carotid plaque, n (%)

43(40.2)

53(55.2)

69(69.7)

< 0.001

 FPG, mmol/L

6.89 ± 1.96

7.57 ± 2.01

7.84 ± 2.40

0.005

 HbA1c (%)

7.15 ± 1.21

7.21 ± 1.34

7.63 ± 1.36

0.022

 TC, mmol/L

4.20 ± 1.19

4.13 ± 1.31

4.54 ± 1.35

0.060

 LDL-C, mmol/L

2.55 ± 0.97

2.56 ± 1.13

2.72 ± 1.20

0.469

 HDL-C, mmol/L

1.00 ± 0.28

0.99 ± 0.27

1.07 ± 0.29

0.097

 TG, mmol/L

1.46(1.27–2.21)

1.63(1.25–2.36)

1.82(1.20–2.88)

0.127

 ApoA, g/L

1.29 ± 0.24

1.35 ± 0.67

1.38 ± 0.25

0.295

 ApoB, g/L

0.90 ± 0.30

0.88 ± 0.30

0.91 ± 0.29

0.697

 Lp(a), mg/dL

116.75(51.55–354.49)

156.4(60.33–316.70)

95.3(52.70–214.20)

0.121

 Hs-CRP, mg/dL

1.28(0.63–2.82)

1.47(0.84–2.98)

1.58(0.82–2.50)

0.509

 FFAs, mmol/L

0.32 ± 0.07

0.49 ± 0.04

0.68 ± 0.11

<0.001

 Gensini score

19.0(8.0–41.5)

30.0(8.0–64.0)

46.0(16.0–86.0)

<0.001

 Crouse score

2.40 ± 1.47

3.02 ± 1.55

3.34 ± 1.73

<0.001

 Aspirin, n (%)

56(52.3)

56(58.3)

65(65.7)

0.496

 Statin, n (%)

48(44.9)

48(50.0)

49(49.5)

0.717

 ACEI, n (%)

11(10.3)

15(15.6)

8(8.1)

0.278

 ARB, n (%)

17(15.9)

15(15.6)

12(12.1)

0.519

 Calcium Blocker, n (%)

21(19.6)

19(19.8)

20(20.2)

0.956