Baseline characteristics
Females and males in the young cohort had a similar age distribution with a median age of 23 years, while the median in the old cohort was 7.5 years higher in the females compared to their male counterparts. In both age groups, male participants had a non-significantly higher BMI compared to female subjects. On both experimental days, the mBP of older men was markedly higher compared to older women (p < 0.001, Table Baseline characteristics of male and female participants for the two experimental procedures (tVNS and sham treatment).Shown are the median age and the median body-mass index (BMI) with the respective value range. Mean arterial blood pressure (mBP) is displayed as the mean ± standard deviations during the first baseline measurement. Baseline sex differences in mBP were tested using a linear mixed model, while sex differences in age and BMI were tested using Mann-Whitney U test. Estimated coefficients, representing the effect of being male, are depicted with the 95% confidence interval (95%CI).