Table 1. Baseline Characteristics and Measures According to Mediterranean Diet Adherence Score.
| Characteristic | Participants by Mediterranean diet adherence score, median (IQR) | P value for trend | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-3 (n = 9871) | 4-5 (n = 9184) | ≥6 (n = 6260) | ||
| Age, y | 51.9 (48.4-57.3) | 53.3 (49.1-59.1) | 54.1 (49.8-60.6) | <.001 |
| Current smoking, No. (%) | 1547 (15.7) | 950 (10.4) | 392 (6.3) | <.001 |
| Exercise, No. (%) | ||||
| Rarely or never | 4411 (44.7) | 3251 (35.4) | 1626 (26.0) | <.001 |
| <1/wk | 2001 (20.3) | 1744 (19.0) | 1202 (19.2) | |
| 1-3/wk | 2662 (27.0) | 3096 (33.7) | 2410 (38.5) | |
| ≥4/wk | 793 (8.0) | 1090 (11.9) | 1021 (16.3) | |
| Alcohol consumption, No. (%) | ||||
| Rarely | 4856 (49.2) | 3836 (41.8) | 2183 (34.9) | <.001 |
| 1-3 drinks/mo | 1444 (14.6) | 1230 (13.4) | 690 (11.0) | |
| 1-6 drinks/wk | 2744 (27.8) | 3103 (33.8) | 2521 (40.3) | |
| ≥1 drinks/d | 825 (8.4) | 1013 (10.0) | 864 (13.8) | |
| Vegetable intake, servings/d | 2.3 (1.6-3.1) | 3.7 (2.8-5.0) | 5.2 (4.1-6.8) | <.001 |
| Fruits, servings/d | 1.3 (0.8-1.8) | 2.1 (1.4-2.9) | 2.8 (2.2-3.7) | <.001 |
| Nuts, servings/d | 0 (0-0.07) | 0.07 (0-0.13) | 0.07 (0-0.1) | <.001 |
| Whole grains, servings/d | 0.7 (0.3-1.1) | 1.2 (0.7-1.9) | 1.8 (1.3-2.8) | <.001 |
| Legumes, servings/d | 0.2 (0.1-0.4) | 0.4 (0.2-0.6) | 0.6 (0.4-0.9) | <.001 |
| Fish, servings/d | 0.1 (0.07-0.2) | 0.2 (0.1-0.3) | 0.3 (0.2-0.5) | <.001 |
| Ratio of monounsaturated to saturated fat | 1.1 (1.0-1.2) | 1.1 (1.0-1.2) | 1.2 (1.1-1.3) | <.001 |
| Red meat, servings/d | 0.6 (0.4-1.0) | 0.6 (0.3-1.0) | 0.5 (0.3-0.9) | <.001 |
| Processed meats, servings/d | 0.1 (0.07-0.3) | 0.1 (0-0.2) | 0.07 (0-0.2) | <.001 |
| Total calorie intake, kcal | 1439.7 (1158.7-1758.4) | 1718.7 (1422.1-2063.0) | 1990.0 (1677.8-2371.6) | |
| Postmenopausal status, No. (%) | 4909 (49.8) | 5064 (55.3) | 3685 (59.0) | <.001 |
| BMI | 25.0 (22.5-28.3) | 24.8 (22.5-28.2) | 24.2 (22.1-27.4) | <.001 |
| Blood pressure, mm Hg | ||||
| Systolic | 125.0 (115.0-135.0) | 125.0 (115.0-135.0) | 125.0 (115.0-135.0) | .65 |
| Diastolic | 80.0 (70.0-80.0) | 80.0 (70.0-80.0) | 80.0 (70.0-80.0) | .10 |
| Lipids, mg/dL | ||||
| LDL cholesterol | 121.6 (100.7-144.4) | 121.1 (100.9-144.1) | 121.4 (100.3-144.7) | .91 |
| HDL cholesterol | 51.5 (43.0-61.6) | 52.7 (43.9-63.1) | 53.8 (44.9-64.5) | <.001 |
| Triglycerides | 117.0 (83.0-171.0) | 117.0 (83.0-172.0) | 116.0 (83.0-167.0) | .15 |
| Total cholesterol | 207.0 (183.0-234.0) | 208.0 (184.0-235.0) | 208.0 (184.0-236.0) | .01 |
| Lipoproteins, mg/dL | ||||
| Lipoprotein(a) | 10.4 (4.4-32.3) | 10.9 (4.7-33.5) | 10.8 (4.5-32.9) | .12 |
| Apolipoprotein AI | 148.0 (131.3-166.5) | 150.0 (133.7-168.5) | 152.0 (135.3-171.0) | <.001 |
| Apolipoprotein B100 | 99.8 (83.8-120.4) | 99.5 (83.2-120.1) | 99.2 (83.5-120.5) | .86 |
| LDL particles and size | ||||
| LDL particle concentration, nmol/L | 1428.7 (1194.2-1699.1) | 1430.0 (1198.8-1695.7) | 1433.9 (1194.9-1696.8) | .99 |
| LDL particle size, (nm) | 21.0 (20.7-21.3) | 21.1 (20.7-21.3) | 21.1 (20.8-21.3) | <.001 |
| HDL particles and size | ||||
| HDL particle concentration, μmol/L | 22.3 (20.2-24.5) | 22.5 (20.5-24.7) | 22.6 (20.6-24.9) | <.001 |
| HDL particle size, nm | 9.0 (8.7-9.3) | 9.0 (8.8-9.4) | 9.1 (8.8-9.4) | <.001 |
| TRL particles and size | ||||
| TRL particle concentration, nmol/L | 163.0 (125.2-206.1) | 161.3 (122.9-205.6) | 160.8 (122.1-206.1) | .13 |
| TRL particle size, nm | 42.9 (38.7-48.5) | 42.8 (38.8-48.4) | 42.7 (38.8-48.0) | .23 |
| Glycemic measures | ||||
| Hemoglobin A1c, % | 4.99 (4.84-5.18) | 4.99 (4.83-5.17) | 4.99 (4.82-5.16) | .01 |
| Insulin resistance | ||||
| Lipoprotein insulin resistance index score | 45.0 (27.0-62.0) | 44.0 (26.0-61.0) | 42.0 (25.0-59.0) | <.001 |
| 5-y diabetes risk factor index score | 41.0 (28.0-55.0) | 40.0 (28.0-53.0) | 39.0 (28.0-52.0) | <.001 |
| Inflammation | ||||
| High-sensitivity C-reactive protein, mg/L | 2.0 (0.8-4.4) | 2.0 (0.8-4.2) | 1.8 (0.7-3.9) | <.001 |
| Fibrinogen, mg/dL | 350.3 (306.7-403.3) | 349.7 (307.5-400.1) | 346.1 (304.6-396.7) | .002 |
| Soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1, ng/mL | 344.4 (301.5-397.5) | 341.2 (299.8-390.6) | 337.1 (297.3-383.5) | <.001 |
| Glycoprotein acetylation, μmol/L | 374.7 (330.9-422.4) | 372.6 (330.0-418.7) | 368.9 (326.1-413.6) | <.001 |
| Branched-chain amino acids, μmol/L | ||||
| Total branched-chain amino acids | 382.2 (334.6-436.5) | 378.6 (333.6-431.7) | 376.5 (331.4-427.3) | <.001 |
| Valine | 190.1 (165.0-218.4) | 188.6 (165.2-215.6) | 187.6 (164.6-214.4) | .004 |
| Leucine | 128.0 (107.4-150.3) | 126.6 (105.6-149.2) | 126.2 (106.3-148.3) | .001 |
| Isoleucine | 64.7 (53.8-77.3) | 64.0 (53.5-76.0) | 63.2 (53.2-74.7) | <.001 |
| Small molecule metabolites | ||||
| Citrate, μmol/L | 99.0 (84.7-114.6) | 99.5 (84.3-115.8) | 98.2 (83.5-114.8) | .02 |
| Creatinine, mg/dL | 0.7 (0.6-0.8) | 0.7 (0.6-0.8) | 0.7 (0.6-0.8) | .33 |
| Homocysteine, umol/L | 10.7 (8.8-13.2) | 10.3 (8.6-12.7) | 10.2 (8.6-12.4) | <.001 |
| Alanine, mg/dL | 3.8 (3.3-4.4) | 3.9 (3.4-4.5) | 4.0 (3.5-4.5) | <.001 |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared); HDL, high-density lipoprotein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; TRL, triglyceride-rich lipoprotein.
SI conversion factors: To convert apolipoproteins AI and B100 to grams per liter, multiply by 0.01; C-reactive protein to nanomoles per liter, multiply by 9.524; creatinine to micromoles per liter, multiply by 88.4; fibrinogen to micromoles per liter, multiply by 0.0294; HDL, LDL, and total cholesterol to millimoles per liter, multiply by 0.0253; hemoglobin A1c to proportion of total hemoglobin, multiply by 0.01; lipoprotein(a) to micromoles per liter, multiply by 0.0357; and triglycerides to millimoles per liter, multiply by 0.0113.