Baseline characteristics according to albuminuria level (n = 2350)^‡.

<p>Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; WC, waist circumference; BP, blood pressure; UACR, urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio; eGFR: estimated glomerular filtration rate; hsCRP, high sensitivity C-reactive protein.</p>*<p>:Student's <i>t</i>-test for unpaired data was used for the comparison of mean values between genders; data are means ± SD;</p>#<p>:Statistics were tested using the log-transformed values.</p>†<p>:Pearson's χ² test was used for categorical data; data were shown as percentage.</p>‡<p>:Normoalbuminuria: UACR<30 mg/g creatinine; Albuminuria: UACR≥30 mg/g creatinine.</p>**<p>:N = 1671.