Table 1 Characteristics of patients with non-cardiac chest pain
|  | Totala (N = 552) | History of cardiac disease (n = 188) | No history of cardiac disease (n = 360) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sex n (%) |  |  |  | < 0.001 |
 Males | 271 (49) | 112 (60) | 157 (44) |  |
 Females | 281 (51) | 76 (40) | 203 (56) |  |
Age year (mean ± SD) | 64 ± 17 | 71 ± 13 | 60 ± 17 | < 0.001 |
Married/cohabiting n (%) | 370 (67) | 117 (62) | 251 (70) | 0.062 |
Educational level n (%) |  |  |  | < 0.001 |
 Compulsory school | 185 (34) | 91 (48) | 91 (25) |  |
 High school | 216 (39) | 60 (32) | 156 (43) |  |
 University | 150 (27) | 37 (20) | 112 (31) |  |
Work status n (%) |  |  |  | < 0.001 |
 Working | 152 (28) | 27 (14) | 125 (35) |  |
 Retired | 302 (55) | 132 (70) | 167 (46) |  |
 Sick-leave/disability pension | 40 (7) | 16 (9) | 24 (7) |  |
 Other | 57 (10) | 13 (7) | 44 (12) |  |
Smoking n (%) | Â | Â | Â | 0.471 |
 None/Previous smokers | 493 (89) | 166 (88) | 325 (90) |  |
 Smokers | 59 (11) | 22 (12) | 35 (10) |  |
Healthcare contacts n (%) |  |  |  | < 0.001 |
  ≤ 1 contacts per year | 331 (60) | 88 (47) | 241 (67) |  |
 2-3 contacts per year | 145 (26) | 55 (29) | 88 (24) |  |
  > 3 contacts per year | 76 (14) | 45 (24) | 31 (9) |  |
History of illness n (%) | ||||
 Angina Pectoris | 114 (21) | 114 (61) | 0 (0) | – |
 Asthma/bronchitis | 66 (12) | 22 (12) | 43 (12) | 0.725 |
 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 37 (7) | 24 (13) | 13 (4) | < 0.001 |
 Diabetes | 64 (11) | 45 (24) | 19 (5) | < 0.001 |
 Gastric ulcer | 48 (9) | 18 (10) | 30 (8) | 0.213 |
 Heart failure | 55 (10) | 55 (29) | 0 (0) | – |
 Hypertension | 247 (45) | 116 (62) | 131 (36) | < 0.001 |
 Mental disorder | 107 (20) | 39 (21) | 67 (19) | 0.739 |
 Musculoskeletal pain | 307 (55) | 104 (55) | 202 (56) | 0.087 |
 Myocardial infarction | 104 (19) | 104 (55) | 0 (0) | – |
 Reflux/heartburn | 234 (43) | 67 (36) | 166 (46) | 0.005 |
Number of conditions (mean ± SD) | 4 ± 2 | 5 ± 2 | 3 ± 2 | < 0.001 |