Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients and controls included in this study.

<p>*Criteria of hypertension according to JNC 7 blood pressure category. The range of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) values for the different stages was as follows:</p><p>Normal, SBP<120 and DBP<80 mmHg.</p><p>Prehypertension, SBP 120–139 or DBP 80–89 mmHg.</p><p>Stage 1 Hypertension, SBP 140–159 or DBP 90–99 mmHg.</p><p>Stage 2 Hypertension, SBP≥160 or DBP≥100 mmHg.