Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of participants based on serum folate stratification.
| Characteristic | Serum folate | p-value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low | Middle | High | ||
| N | 1806 | 1789 | 1822 | |
| Demographics | ||||
| Age (year), mean ± SD | 45.89 ± 16.20 | 47.74 ± 17.20 | 54.04 ± 17.38 | < 0.001 |
| Sex | < 0.001 | |||
| Male | 876 (48.50%) | 851 (47.57%) | 724 (39.74%) | |
| Female | 930 (51.50%) | 938 (52.43%) | 1098 (60.26%) | |
| Race | < 0.001 | |||
| Mexican American | 245 (13.57%) | 266 (14.87%) | 219 (12.02%) | |
| Other Hispanic | 170 (9.41%) | 219 (12.24%) | 176 (9.66%) | |
| Non-Hispanic White | 628 (34.77%) | 674 (37.67%) | 910 (49.95%) | |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 535 (29.62%) | 339 (18.95%) | 223 (12.24%) | |
| Other race—including multi-racial | 228 (12.62%) | 291 (16.27%) | 294 (16.14%) | |
| Education level | < 0.001 | |||
| < High school | 398 (22.04%) | 343 (19.17%) | 327 (17.95%) | |
| High school | 457 (25.30%) | 379 (21.19%) | 352 (19.32%) | |
| > High school | 951 (52.66%) | 1067 (59.64%) | 1143 (62.73%) | |
| PIR | < 0.001 | |||
| ≤ 1 | 466 (25.80%) | 368 (20.57%) | 343 (18.83%) | |
| 1–3 | 799 (44.24%) | 778 (43.49%) | 695 (38.14%) | |
| > 3 | 541 (29.96%) | 643 (35.94%) | 784 (43.03%) | |
| Behavioral characteristics | ||||
| Smoking status | < 0.001 | |||
| Never | 977 (54.10%) | 1089 (60.87%) | 1148 (63.01%) | |
| Now | 449 (24.86%) | 272 (15.20%) | 188 (10.32%) | |
| Former | 380 (21.04%) | 428 (23.92%) | 486 (26.67%) | |
| Work activities status | 0.007 | |||
| No | 1015 (56.20%) | 1047 (58.52%) | 1063 (58.34%) | |
| Moderate | 391 (21.65%) | 388 (21.69%) | 442 (24.26%) | |
| Vigorous | 88 (4.87%) | 61 (3.41%) | 63 (3.46%) | |
| Both | 312 (17.28%) | 293 (16.38%) | 254 (13.94%) | |
| Recreational activities status | < 0.001 | |||
| No | 991 (54.87%) | 892 (49.86%) | 825 (45.28%) | |
| Moderate | 438 (24.25%) | 460 (25.71%) | 584 (32.05%) | |
| Vigorous | 131 (7.25%) | 136 (7.60%) | 134 (7.35%) | |
| Both | 246 (13.62%) | 301 (16.83%) | 279 (15.31%) | |
| Dietary characteristics | ||||
| Dietary energy intake (kcal), mean ± SD | 3947.76 ± 1566.43 | 4024.92 ± 1575.39 | 3903.65 ± 1482.64 | 0.058 |
| Dietary protein intake (mg), mean ± SD | 155.46 ± 68.45 | 161.88 ± 67.71 | 157.49 ± 68.61 | 0.016 |
| Dietary folate intake (mcg), median (Q1–Q3) | 593.50 (433.00–837.00) | 712.00 (505.00–975.00) | 776.00 (543.00–1053.75) | < 0.001 |
| Disease conditions | ||||
| NAFLD | < 0.001 | |||
| No | 930 (51.50%) | 1020 (57.02%) | 1106 (60.70%) | |
| Yes | 876 (48.50%) | 769 (42.98%) | 716 (39.30%) | |
| AHF | 0.937 | |||
| No | 1631 (90.31%) | 1614 (90.22%) | 1650 (90.56%) | |
| Yes | 175 (9.69%) | 175 (9.78%) | 172 (9.44%) | |
| Hypertension status | < 0.001 | |||
| No | 1096 (60.69%) | 1052 (58.80%) | 989 (54.28%) | |
| Yes | 710 (39.31%) | 737 (41.20%) | 833 (45.72%) | |
| Diabetes status | < 0.001 | |||
| No | 1166 (64.56%) | 1107 (61.88%) | 1078 (59.17%) | |
| Yes | 325 (18.00%) | 396 (22.14%) | 419 (23.00%) | |
| IGT | 127 (7.03%) | 112 (6.26%) | 165 (9.06%) | |
| IFG | 188 (10.41%) | 174 (9.73%) | 160 (8.78%) | |
| Anthropometric measurements | ||||
| Waist circumference (cm), mean ± SD | 102.31 ± 18.12 | 100.04 ± 17.10 | 97.96 ± 15.39 | < 0.001 |
| BMI (kg/m2), mean ± SD | 30.66 ± 7.94 | 29.55 ± 7.06 | 28.39 ± 6.25 | < 0.001 |
| Biochemical indicators | ||||
| GGT (IU/L), median (Q1–Q3) | 19.00 (14.00–29.00) | 19.00 (14.00–28.00) | 18.00 (13.00–26.00) | 0.019 |
| Triglycerides (mg/dL), median (Q1–Q3) | 96.00 (65.00–146.00) | 94.00 (64.00–138.00) | 98.50 (67.00–141.00) | 0.355 |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dL), mean ± SD | 189.26 ± 40.77 | 186.88 ± 40.62 | 190.97 ± 40.19 | < 0.001 |
| HDL cholesterol (mg/dL), mean ± SD | 50.88 ± 14.10 | 53.05 ± 15.09 | 55.65 ± 15.75 | < 0.001 |
| AST (u/L), median (Q1–Q3) | 21.00 (17.00–25.00) | 22.00 (18.00–26.00) | 23.00 (19.00–27.00) | 0.002 |
| ALT(u/L), median (Q1–Q3) | 19.00 (14.00–27.00) | 20.00 (15.00–28.00) | 20.00 (16.00–26.00) | 0.195 |
NAFLD Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, AHF advanced hepatic fibrosis, PIR poverty income ratio, IFG impaired fasting glycemia, IGT impaired glucose tolerance, BMI body mass index, GGT gamma glutamyl transferase, AST aspartate transaminase, ALT alanine aminotransferase.