Measurement of blood biochemistry markers and lifestyle

Participants were instructed to fast overnight at least 8-12 hours before blood specimen collection. In a qualified central laboratory, trained professionals measured triglycerides (TG) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Additionally, participants were given 75 g of glucose to perform a 2-h oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to test fasting blood glucose (FPG) and 2-hour postprandial blood glucose (2h PG). The assessment of sociodemographic factors (age, sex, region, education level, and marital status), anthropometric measures (weight and height), medication history and family history of diseases (T2DM, Hypertension), behavioral risk factors (smoking and alcohol consumption), dietary intakes (The daily intake of oil and salt was calculated by asking ‘how many kilos of oil/salt do you usually consume in a month’ through inquiry), level of physical activity, mental health and death information were obtained via face-to-face interviews. Blood pressure was documented with the average value of three repeated measurements using the same model electronic sphygmomanometer. Hypertension was defined by the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) as follows: (1) self-reported hypertension or use of hypertension medications; and (2) systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg (24).