Table 4.
Age-standardized (Italian population) balanced nutrition food groups intake (EPIC questionnaire): processed meat, sweets/cakes, sweet drinks and alcohol prevalence by sex, age classes, geographical area and educational level. Men and women residing in Italy aged 35–74 years, Health Examination Survey 2018–2019—CUORE Project.
| Men | Women | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Processed Meat | ||||||||||||
| N | n | % | CI 95% |
χ2
p -value |
N | n | % | CI 95% |
χ2
p -value |
|||
| All | 793 | 91 | 11.2 | 6.8 | 15.6 | 785 | 168 | 20.9 | 15.2 | 26.5 | ||
| Age classes (years) | ||||||||||||
| 35–44 | 196 | 12 | 6.1 | 2.8 | 9.5 | 0.0146 | 191 | 28 | 14.7 | 9.6 | 19.7 | <0.0001 |
| 45–54 | 204 | 21 | 10.3 | 6.1 | 14.5 | 216 | 35 | 16.2 | 11.3 | 21.1 | ||
| 55–64 | 219 | 30 | 13.7 | 9.1 | 18.3 | 214 | 52 | 24.3 | 18.6 | 30.1 | ||
| 65–74 | 174 | 28 | 16.1 | 10.6 | 21.6 | 164 | 53 | 32.3 | 25.2 | 39.5 | ||
| Italian Area | ||||||||||||
| North | 357 | 37 | 10.1 | 3.9 | 16.3 | 0.1479 | 359 | 83 | 22.4 | 13.8 | 31.0 | 0.4115 |
| Centre | 180 | 28 | 15.1 | 4.6 | 25.5 | 184 | 40 | 21.4 | 9.6 | 33.3 | ||
| South | 256 | 26 | 10.0 | 2.7 | 17.4 | 242 | 45 | 18.2 | 8.5 | 27.8 | ||
| Education | ||||||||||||
| Primary and middle school | 201 | 16 | 7.5 | 0.1 | 14.9 | 0.0913 | 209 | 54 | 24.5 | 12.7 | 36.2 | 0.0863 |
| High school and university | 591 | 75 | 12.4 | 7.1 | 17.7 | 575 | 114 | 19.6 | 13.2 | 26.1 | ||
| Sweets/Cakes | ||||||||||||
| N | n | % | CI 95% |
χ2
p -value |
N | n | % | CI 95% |
χ2
p -value |
|||
| All | 793 | 74 | 9.0 | 5.0 | 13.0 | 785 | 87 | 10.8 | 6.5 | 15.2 | ||
| Age classes (years) | ||||||||||||
| 35–44 | 196 | 11 | 5.6 | 2.4 | 8.8 | 0.0195 | 191 | 12 | 6.3 | 2.8 | 9.7 | 0.0051 |
| 45–54 | 204 | 14 | 6.9 | 3.4 | 10.3 | 216 | 18 | 8.3 | 4.7 | 12.0 | ||
| 55–64 | 219 | 25 | 11.4 | 7.2 | 15.6 | 214 | 30 | 14.0 | 9.4 | 18.7 | ||
| 65–74 | 174 | 24 | 13.8 | 8.7 | 18.9 | 164 | 27 | 16.5 | 10.8 | 22.1 | ||
| Italian Area | ||||||||||||
| North | 357 | 29 | 7.9 | 2.3 | 13.5 | 0.1003 | 359 | 37 | 9.9 | 3.7 | 16.0 | 0.2929 |
| Centre | 180 | 13 | 7.0 | 0.0 | 14.4 | 184 | 17 | 8.7 | 0.6 | 16.8 | ||
| South | 256 | 32 | 11.9 | 4.0 | 19.8 | 242 | 33 | 13.8 | 5.2 | 22.5 | ||
| Education | ||||||||||||
| Primary and middle school | 201 | 14 | 6.8 | 0.0 | 13.8 | 0.2298 | 209 | 26 | 12.0 | 3.1 | 20.9 | 0.5529 |
| High school and university | 591 | 60 | 9.7 | 5.0 | 14.5 | 575 | 61 | 10.4 | 5.5 | 15.4 | ||
| Sweet Drinks | ||||||||||||
| N | n | % | CI 95% |
χ2
p -value |
N | n | % | CI 95% |
χ2
p -value |
|||
| All | 793 | 432 | 54.0 | 47.0 | 60.9 | 785 | 473 | 59.8 | 53.0 | 66.6 | ||
| Age classes (years) | ||||||||||||
| 35–44 | 196 | 81 | 41.3 | 34.4 | 48.2 | <0.0001 | 191 | 87 | 45.6 | 38.5 | 52.6 | <0.0001 |
| 45–54 | 204 | 108 | 52.9 | 46.1 | 59.8 | 216 | 123 | 56.9 | 50.3 | 63.6 | ||
| 55–64 | 219 | 133 | 60.7 | 54.3 | 67.2 | 214 | 141 | 65.9 | 59.5 | 72.2 | ||
| 65–74 | 174 | 110 | 63.2 | 56.1 | 70.4 | 164 | 122 | 74.4 | 67.7 | 81.1 | ||
| Italian Area | ||||||||||||
| North | 357 | 194 | 53.7 | 43.4 | 64.1 | 0.8149 | 359 | 216 | 59.3 | 49.1 | 69.4 | 0.8341 |
| Centre | 180 | 95 | 52.8 | 38.2 | 67.4 | 184 | 108 | 58.2 | 44.0 | 72.5 | ||
| South | 256 | 143 | 55.1 | 42.9 | 67.2 | 242 | 149 | 61.7 | 49.6 | 73.9 | ||
| Education | ||||||||||||
| Primary and middle school | 201 | 106 | 51.3 | 37.3 | 65.3 | 0.6365 | 209 | 131 | 62.0 | 48.8 | 75.3 | 0.4669 |
| High school and university | 591 | 325 | 54.7 | 46.8 | 62.7 | 575 | 342 | 59.1 | 51.1 | 67.1 | ||
| Alcohol | ||||||||||||
| N | n | % | CI 95% |
χ2
p -value |
N | n | % | CI 95% |
χ2
p -value |
|||
| All | 793 | 581 | 74.2 | 68.2 | 80.3 | 785 | 662 | 84.3 | 79.3 | 89.4 | ||
| Age classes (years) | ||||||||||||
| 35–44 | 196 | 162 | 82.7 | 72.1 | 93.2 | <0.0001 | 191 | 165 | 86.4 | 76.5 | 96.3 | <0.0001 |
| 45–54 | 204 | 155 | 76.0 | 65.3 | 86.7 | 216 | 182 | 84.3 | 75.3 | 93.2 | ||
| 55–64 | 219 | 167 | 76.3 | 64.9 | 87.6 | 214 | 178 | 83.2 | 73.2 | 93.2 | ||
| 65–74 | 174 | 97 | 55.8 | 39.1 | 72.4 | 164 | 137 | 83.5 | 71.2 | 95.9 | ||
| Italian Area | ||||||||||||
| North | 357 | 248 | 70.3 | 60.8 | 79.7 | 0.0438 | 359 | 292 | 81.5 | 73.5 | 89.5 | 0.0198 |
| Centre | 180 | 143 | 80.7 | 69.2 | 92.3 | 184 | 153 | 82.9 | 72.1 | 93.8 | ||
| South | 256 | 190 | 75.2 | 64.6 | 85.8 | 242 | 217 | 89.5 | 81.8 | 97.1 | ||
| Education | ||||||||||||
| Primary and middle school | 201 | 132 | 66.8 | 53.6 | 80.0 | 0.0058 | 209 | 182 | 86.6 | 77.3 | 95.9 | 0.2401 |
| High school and university | 591 | 449 | 76.8 | 70.1 | 83.6 | 575 | 479 | 83.5 | 77.5 | 89.5 | ||
N: number of participants denominator. n: number of participants related to the prevalence numerator. For processed meat intake, the following foods were considered: sausages, salami and other preserved meat. For sweets/cakes intake, the following foods were considered: sugar, honey, jam, chocolate, candy bars, paste, confetti/flakes, non-chocolate confectionery, ice cream, cakes, pies, pastries, puddings (not milk-based), dry cakes and biscuits. For sweet beverages intake, the following foods were considered: fruit and vegetable juices, carbonated/soft/isotonic drinks and diluted syrups. For alcohol intake, the following foods were considered: alcoholic beverages. Dietary information was collected by the self-administered Italian version of the food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC). A balanced nutrition was defined based on the following intake: vegetables ≥ 200 g/day; fruit 150–375 g/day; fish at least twice per week (150 g per serving); cheese no more than three times per week (50–100 g per serving); sausages, salami and other preserved meat no more than once per week (50 g per serving); cake and desserts no more than once per week (100 g per serving); sugar beverages less than one per week (330 mL); and consumption of alcoholic beverages limited to two glasses per day for men (24 g of ethanol), one glass per day for women (12 g of ethanol) and one glass per day for men and women aged 65–74 (12 g of ethanol). SD: standard deviation; CI: confidence interval. Prevalence was age standardized by Italian National Institute of Statistics—ISTAT Italian population 2019 (except when it is reported by age-classes). Chi-square test to compare prevalence among classes. The pool was made of the following Italian regions: Piedmont, Lombardy, Liguria, Emilia Romagna, Tuscany, Lazio, Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily. Italian Area: North (Piedmont, Lombardy, Liguria, Emilia Romagna); Centre (Tuscany, Lazio); South (Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily).