Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of dietary choline intake among the general adult population in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 2011–2016 (weighted).
| Variables | Total | Quartiles of Dietary Choline Intake | p-Value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | |||
| Participants, n | 14,323 | 3566 | 3578 | 3583 | 3596 | |
| Male (%) | 7016 (48.8) | 1226 (32.2) | 1455 (40.1) | 1806 (49.9) | 2529 (70.8) | <0.001 |
| Age (mean ± SD) (years) | 48 ± 17 | 47 ± 17 | 49 ± 17 | 50 ± 16 | 48 ± 16 | <0.001 |
| Race (%) | <0.001 | |||||
| Mexican-American | 1936 (8.6) | 455 (8.6) | 445 (7.8) | 479 (8.2) | 557 (9.7) | |
| Other Hispanic | 1529 (6.0) | 419 (6.9) | 410 (6.3) | 358 (5.4) | 342 (5.4) | |
| Non-Hispanic White | 5598 (65.9) | 1300 (61.9) | 1427 (66.9) | 1456 (68.1) | 1415 (66.2) | |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 3208 (11.1) | 871 (13.0) | 807 (11.3) | 775 (10.2) | 755 (10.2) | |
| Other Race | 2052 (8.4) | 521 (9.7) | 489 (7.7) | 515 (8.1) | 527 (8.5) | |
| Education level (%) | <0.001 | |||||
| Below high school | 3175 (15.0) | 1006 (19.3) | 811 (15.3) | 686 (12.4) | 672 (13.4) | |
| High school | 3117 (20.9) | 825 (23.4) | 735 (20.6) | 752 (19.7) | 805 (20.1) | |
| Above high school | 8031 (64.1) | 1735 (57.2) | 2032 (64.1) | 2145 (67.9) | 2119 (66.5) | |
| Marital status (%) | <0.001 | |||||
| Married | 7327 (54.4) | 1608 (46.5) | 1797 (54.0) | 1991 (59.8) | 1931 (56.4) | |
| Separated | 3141 (19.0) | 938 (22.6) | 837 (19.8) | 738 (18.3) | 628 (15.7) | |
| Never married | 3855 (26.6) | 1020 (30.9) | 944 (26.2) | 854 (21.9) | 1037 (27.8) | |
| BMI (mean ± SD) (kg/m2) | 29.14 ± 6.86 | 29.22 ± 6.86 | 29.06 ± 7.19 | 29.14 ± 6.74 | 29.16 ± 6.67 | 0.9 |
| WBC (mean ± SD) (1000 cells/μL) | 7.29 ± 2.24 | 7.46 ± 2.34 | 7.26 ± 2.25 | 7.20 ± 2.22 | 7.26 ± 2.17 | 0.01 |
| Lymphocyte cells (mean ± SD) (1000 cells/μL) | 2.14 ± 0.99 | 2.21 ± 0.94 | 2.14 ± 0.95 | 2.10 ± 1.15 | 2.11 ± 0.90 | 0.001 |
| Monocyte cells (mean ± SD) (1000 cells/μL) | 0.57 ± 0.21 | 0.56 ± 0.21 | 0.56 ± 0.19 | 0.57 ± 0.21 | 0.59 ± 0.22 | 0.001 |
| Neutrophils cells (mean ± SD) (1000 cells/μL) | 4.33 ± 1.68 | 4.44 ± 1.78 | 4.31 ± 1.68 | 4.28 ± 1.58 | 4.31 ± 1.68 | 0.077 |
| Eosinophils cells (mean ± SD) (1000 cells/μL) | 0.20 ± 0.16 | 0.20 ± 0.16 | 0.20 ± 0.16 | 0.20 ± 0.15 | 0.21 ± 0.16 | 0.282 |
| Basophils cells (mean ± SD) (1000 cells/μL) | 0.05 ± 0.06 | 0.05 ± 0.06 | 0.05 ± 0.06 | 0.05 ± 0.05 | 0.05 ± 0.06 | 0.478 |
| PLT (mean ± SD) (1000 cells/μL) | 237.6 ± 60.2 | 245.9 ± 62.8 | 239.3 ± 59.5 | 236.1 ± 60.8 | 230.0 ± 57.0 | <0.001 |
| RBC (mean ± SD) (million cells/μL) | 4.67 ± 0.48 | 4.59 ± 0.48 | 4.64 ± 0.49 | 4.68 ± 0.47 | 4.76 ± 0.47 | <0.001 |
| Hb (mean ± SD) (g/dL) | 14.15 ± 1.46 | 13.81 ± 1.51 | 14.04 ± 1.42 | 14.20 ± 1.42 | 14.51 ± 1.42 | <0.001 |
| Alb (mean ± SD) (g/dL) | 4.33 ± 0.34 | 4.29 ± 0.35 | 4.33 ± 0.34 | 4.34 ± 0.34 | 4.37 ± 0.33 | <0.001 |
| ALT (mean ± SD) (U/L) | 25.5 ± 22.3 | 23.8 ± 15.9 | 24.9 ± 32.0 | 25.7 ± 18.0 | 27.5 ± 19.4 | <0.001 |
| AST (mean ± SD) (U/L) | 25.8 ± 16.1 | 25.2 ± 16.6 | 25.5 ± 17.7 | 25.7 ± 13.3 | 26.7 ± 16.7 | 0.013 |
| BUN (mean ± SD) (mg/dL) | 13.8 ± 5.5 | 12.8 ± 6.1 | 13.6 ± 5.2 | 14.0 ± 5.3 | 14.7 ± 5.3 | <0.001 |
| Cr (mean ± SD) (mg/dL) | 0.89 ± 0.37 | 0.88 ± 0.55 | 0.87 ± 0.29 | 0.88 ± 0.27 | 0.92 ± 0.31 | <0.001 |
| UA (mean ± SD) (mg/dL) | 5.44 ± 1.40 | 5.27 ± 1.41 | 5.35 ± 1.36 | 5.42 ± 1.42 | 5.68 ± 1.38 | <0.001 |
| HbA1c (mean ± SD) (%) | 5.65 ± 0.96 | 5.67 ± 1.03 | 5.64 ± 0.92 | 5.65 ± 0.93 | 5.66 ± 0.96 | 0.656 |
| Smoking status (%) | <0.001 | |||||
| Never smoker | 8086 (55.5) | 2075 (57.5) | 2157 (58.5) | 2012 (54.6) | 1842 (51.7) | |
| Former smoker | 3391 (25.1) | 687 (19.4) | 779 (23.1) | 949 (29.1) | 976 (28.1) | |
| Current smoker | 2846 (19.4) | 804 (23.1) | 642 (18.4) | 622 (16.3) | 778 (20.2) | |
| Drinking status (%) | <0.001 | |||||
| Non-drinker | 4563 (24.8) | 1470 (33.0) | 1275 (28.3) | 1087 (23.8) | 731 (15.3) | |
| Low-to-moderate drinker | 8479 (63.3) | 1871 (56.9) | 2036 (61.2) | 2173 (64.0) | 2399 (70.3) | |
| Heavy drinker | 1281 (11.8) | 225 (10.1) | 267 (10.5) | 323 (12.1) | 466 (14.4) | |
| eGFR (mean ± SD) (mL/min/1.73 m2) | 99.4 ± 29.7 | 101.1 ± 30.2 | 98.5 ± 27.8 | 99.6 ± 33.6 | 98.7 ± 26.5 | 0.132 |
| Physical activity category (%) | <0.001 | |||||
| Below | 5707 (35.9) | 1623 (40.7) | 1500 (37.9) | 1391 (35.7) | 1193 (29.9) | |
| Meet | 1536 (10.4) | 358 (9.5) | 410 (11.2) | 428 (12.5) | 340 (8.4) | |
| Exceed | 7080 (53.7) | 1585 (49.7) | 1668 (51.0) | 1764 (51.7) | 2063 (61.7) | |
| Hypertension (%) | 5340 (33.6) | 1380 (33.7) | 1352 (34.5) | 1367 (34.5) | 1241 (31.8) | 0.355 |
| DM (%) | 9324 (62.8) | 2478 (68.8) | 2169 (56.4) | 2329 (63.5) | 2348 (63.1) | <0.001 |
| PIR (%) | <0.001 | |||||
| 0–1 | 3291 (16.0) | 1030 (22.2) | 832 (16.1) | 717 (12.9) | 712 (13.4) | |
| 1–3 | 5857 (36.2) | 1517 (39.7) | 1448 (36.6) | 1416 (34.4) | 1476 (34.4) | |
| >3 | 5175 (47.9) | 1019 (38.1) | 1298 (47.3) | 1450 (52.7) | 1408 (52.2) | |
| HR (mean ± SD) (bpm) | 73 ± 12 | 74 ± 12 | 73 ± 12 | 72 ± 12 | 72 ± 12 | <0.001 |
| SBP (mean ± SD) (mmHg) | 123 ± 17 | 123 ± 18 | 122 ± 17 | 122 ± 16 | 123 ± 16 | 0.428 |
| DBP (mean ± SD) (mmHg) | 71 ± 12 | 71 ± 12 | 70 ± 12 | 71 ± 11 | 71 ± 12 | 0.333 |
| Apo B (mean ± SD) (mg/dL) | 91.2 ± 24.7 | 91.7 ± 24.8 | 89.6 ± 24.2 | 91.7 ± 24.2 | 91.8 ± 25.4 | 0.01 |
| HDL-C (mean ± SD) (mg/dL) | 53.7 ± 16.8 | 53.9 ± 18.0 | 54.8 ± 17.1 | 54.1 ± 16.4 | 52.0 ± 15.8 | <0.001 |
| Triglyceride (mean ± SD) (mg/dL) | 187.5 ± 171.5 | 191.1 ± 172.9 | 179.3 ± 174.6 | 190.0 ± 166.1 | 189.9 ± 172.2 | 0.115 |
| LDL-C (mean ± SD) (mg/dL) | 102.6 ± 37.9 | 102.0 ± 38.0 | 101.8 ± 36.7 | 103.4 ± 38.3 | 103.2 ± 38.4 | 0.3 |
| Total cholesterol (mean ± SD) (mg/dL) | 193.7 ± 41.5 | 193.9 ± 41.6 | 192.3 ± 41.5 | 195.4 ± 41.4 | 193.1 ± 41.5 | 0.118 |
1. Values are weighted means ± SE for continuous variables or weighted percentages for categorical variables. 2. Choline: Q1: <197 mg/d, Q2: 197–282 mg/d, Q3: 282–392 mg/d, Q4: ≥392 mg/d. 3. PIR: poverty/income ratio; DM: diabetes mellitus; HR: heart rate; SBP: systolic blood pressure; DBP: diastolic blood pressure; BMI: body mass index; WBC: white blood cells; PLT: platelets; RBC: red blood cells; Hb: hemoglobin; Alb: albumin; ALT: alanine transaminase; AST: aspartate transaminase; BUN: blood urea nitrogen; Cr: creatinine; UA: uric acid; eGFR: estimated glomerular filtration rate; HbA1c:glycohemoglobin; Apo B: apolipoprotein B; HDL-C: high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL-C: low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. 4. The significance of differences between quartiles is indicated by the p-value. A p-value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.