Table 2.
Baseline characteristics in females according to the frequency of the intake of small fish*
| Rarely | 1–3 times/month | 1–2 times/week | ≥ 3 times/week | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | P value | |
| Participants, n | 5599 | 17 562 | 13 746 | 9340 | 46 247 | ||||||
| Age, years | |||||||||||
| Mean | 51·0 | 52·2 | 55·2 | 58·7 | 54·3 | < 0·001 | |||||
| sd | 9·6 | 9·2 | 9·1 | 8·2 | 9·4 | ||||||
| Study area | |||||||||||
| Kanto (Chiba) | 537 | 9·6 | 1962 | 11·2 | 1422 | 10·3 | 822 | 8·8 | 4743 | 10·3 | < 0·001 |
| Chubu (Aichi Cancer Center, Okazaki, Shizuoka, Iga, Daiko, Shizuoka-Sakuragaoka) | 1572 | 28·1 | 5563 | 31·7 | 4397 | 32·0 | 2516 | 26·9 | 14 048 | 30·4 | |
| Kinki (Takashima, Kyoto) | 520 | 9·3 | 1957 | 11·1 | 1707 | 12·4 | 1190 | 12·7 | 5374 | 11·6 | |
| Shikoku (Tokushima) | 174 | 3·1 | 362 | 2·1 | 260 | 1·9 | 134 | 1·4 | 930 | 2·0 | |
| Kyushu and Okinawa (Fukuoka, Saga, Kagoshima, KOPS) | 2796 | 49·9 | 7718 | 43·9 | 5960 | 43·4 | 4678 | 50·1 | 21 152 | 45·7 | |
| BMI, kg/m2 | |||||||||||
| 18·5–24·9 | 3930 | 70·2 | 12 810 | 72·9 | 10 089 | 73·4 | 6651 | 71·2 | 33 480 | 72·4 | < 0·001 |
| < 18·5 | 587 | 10·5 | 1649 | 9·4 | 1234 | 9·0 | 787 | 8·4 | 4257 | 9·2 | |
| ≥ 25·0 | 1070 | 19·1 | 3078 | 17·5 | 2400 | 17·5 | 1893 | 20·3 | 8441 | 18·3 | |
| Unknown | 12 | 0·2 | 25 | 0·1 | 23 | 0·2 | 9 | 0·1 | 69 | 0·1 | |
| Smoking habit | |||||||||||
| Never | 4397 | 78·5 | 14 577 | 83·0 | 11 978 | 87·1 | 8414 | 90·1 | 39 366 | 85·1 | < 0·001 |
| Former, quit ≥ 10·0 years before | 206 | 3·7 | 652 | 3·7 | 423 | 3·1 | 235 | 2·5 | 1516 | 3·3 | |
| Former, quit < 10·0 years before | 273 | 4·9 | 696 | 4·0 | 413 | 3·0 | 204 | 2·2 | 1586 | 3·4 | |
| Current, < 20 cigarettes/d | 395 | 7·1 | 976 | 5·6 | 523 | 3·8 | 258 | 2·8 | 2152 | 4·7 | |
| Current, ≥ 20 cigarettes/d | 253 | 4·5 | 468 | 2·7 | 265 | 1·9 | 144 | 1·5 | 1130 | 2·4 | |
| Unknown | 75 | 1·3 | 193 | 1·1 | 144 | 1·0 | 85 | 0·9 | 497 | 1·1 | |
| Alcohol consumption | |||||||||||
| Never | 3423 | 61·1 | 10 118 | 57·6 | 8359 | 60·8 | 6107 | 65·4 | 28 007 | 60·6 | < 0·001 |
| Former | 142 | 2·5 | 328 | 1·9 | 206 | 1·5 | 158 | 1·7 | 834 | 1·8 | |
| Current, < 23·0 g/d ethanol | 1666 | 29·8 | 6040 | 34·4 | 4488 | 32·6 | 2611 | 28·0 | 14 805 | 32·0 | |
| Current, ≥ 23·0 g/d ethanol | 356 | 6·4 | 1057 | 6·0 | 672 | 4·9 | 450 | 4·8 | 2535 | 5·5 | |
| Unknown | 12 | 0·2 | 19 | 0·1 | 21 | 0·2 | 14 | 0·1 | 66 | 0·1 | |
| Education level | |||||||||||
| Junior high school (≤ 9 years) | 331 | 5·9 | 911 | 5·2 | 878 | 6·4 | 888 | 9·5 | 3008 | 6·5 | < 0·001 |
| High school (10–12 years) | 1776 | 31·7 | 5809 | 33·1 | 4571 | 33·3 | 3002 | 32·1 | 15 158 | 32·8 | |
| Junior college or vocational school (13–15 years) | 1373 | 24·5 | 4999 | 28·5 | 3440 | 25·0 | 1978 | 21·2 | 11 790 | 25·5 | |
| College, university or above (≥ 16 years) | 535 | 9·6 | 1993 | 11·3 | 1461 | 10·6 | 738 | 7·9 | 4727 | 10·2 | |
| No question in the questionnaire | 1564 | 27·9 | 3792 | 21·6 | 3337 | 24·3 | 2687 | 28·8 | 11 380 | 24·6 | |
| Others or unknown | 20 | 0·4 | 58 | 0·3 | 59 | 0·4 | 47 | 0·5 | 184 | 0·4 | |
| Leisure-time physical activity | |||||||||||
| MET·h/d | |||||||||||
| Mean | 1·3 | 1·6 | 2·0 | 2·4 | 1·9 | < 0·001 | |||||
| sd | 2·5 | 2·7 | 3·0 | 3·4 | 2·9 | ||||||
| Hypertension | |||||||||||
| No | 4928 | 88·0 | 15 302 | 87·1 | 11 527 | 83·9 | 7604 | 81·4 | 39 361 | 85·1 | < 0·001 |
| Yes | 657 | 11·7 | 2219 | 12·6 | 2197 | 16·0 | 1711 | 18·3 | 6784 | 14·7 | |
| Unknown | 14 | 0·3 | 41 | 0·2 | 22 | 0·2 | 25 | 0·3 | 102 | 0·2 | |
| Diabetes | |||||||||||
| No | 5418 | 96·8 | 17 057 | 97·1 | 13 304 | 96·8 | 8952 | 95·8 | 44 731 | 96·7 | < 0·001 |
| Yes | 166 | 3·0 | 476 | 2·7 | 424 | 3·1 | 366 | 3·9 | 1432 | 3·1 | |
| Unknown | 15 | 0·3 | 29 | 0·2 | 18 | 0·1 | 22 | 0·2 | 84 | 0·2 | |
| Dyslipidaemia | |||||||||||
| No | 4881 | 87·2 | 15 178 | 86·4 | 11 590 | 84·3 | 7723 | 82·7 | 39 372 | 85·1 | < 0·001 |
| Yes | 698 | 12·5 | 2332 | 13·3 | 2107 | 15·3 | 1580 | 16·9 | 6717 | 14·5 | |
| Unknown | 20 | 0·4 | 52 | 0·3 | 49 | 0·4 | 37 | 0·4 | 158 | 0·3 | |
| Age at menarche, years | |||||||||||
| ≤ 12 | 1977 | 35·3 | 6432 | 36·6 | 4221 | 30·7 | 2345 | 25·1 | 14 975 | 32·4 | < 0·001 |
| 13 | 1368 | 24·4 | 4450 | 25·3 | 3478 | 25·3 | 2278 | 24·4 | 11 574 | 25·0 | |
| 14 | 1259 | 22·5 | 4015 | 22·9 | 3464 | 25·2 | 2467 | 26·4 | 11 205 | 24·2 | |
| ≥ 15 | 940 | 16·8 | 2579 | 14·7 | 2501 | 18·2 | 2202 | 23·6 | 8222 | 17·8 | |
| Unknown | 55 | 1·0 | 86 | 0·5 | 82 | 0·6 | 48 | 0·5 | 271 | 0·6 | |
| Number of births | |||||||||||
| None | 697 | 12·4 | 1528 | 8·7 | 864 | 6·3 | 594 | 6·4 | 3683 | 8·0 | < 0·001 |
| 1 | 653 | 11·7 | 2030 | 11·6 | 1423 | 10·4 | 879 | 9·4 | 4985 | 10·8 | |
| 2 | 2091 | 37·3 | 7669 | 43·7 | 6258 | 45·5 | 4200 | 45·0 | 20 218 | 43·7 | |
| 3 | 1193 | 21·3 | 4282 | 24·4 | 3677 | 26·7 | 2596 | 27·8 | 11 748 | 25·4 | |
| ≥ 4 | 473 | 8·4 | 1084 | 6·2 | 944 | 6·9 | 739 | 7·9 | 3240 | 7·0 | |
| Unknown | 492 | 8·8 | 969 | 5·5 | 580 | 4·2 | 332 | 3·6 | 2373 | 5·1 | |
| Menopausal status | |||||||||||
| Pre-menopausal | 2823 | 50·4 | 8104 | 46·1 | 4447 | 32·4 | 1740 | 18·6 | 17 114 | 37·0 | < 0·001 |
| Menopause at < 47 years old | 592 | 10·6 | 1689 | 9·6 | 1524 | 11·1 | 1203 | 12·9 | 5008 | 10·8 | |
| Menopause at 47–< 50 years old | 516 | 9·2 | 1639 | 9·3 | 1525 | 11·1 | 1204 | 12·9 | 4884 | 10·6 | |
| Menopause at 50–< 53 years old | 1012 | 18·1 | 3732 | 21·3 | 3753 | 27·3 | 3031 | 32·5 | 11 528 | 24·9 | |
| Menopause at ≥ 53 years old | 593 | 10·6 | 2242 | 12·8 | 2352 | 17·1 | 2045 | 21·9 | 7232 | 15·6 | |
| Unknown | 63 | 1·1 | 156 | 0·9 | 145 | 1·1 | 117 | 1·3 | 481 | 1·0 | |
| Median | IQR | Median | IQR | Median | IQR | Median | IQR | Median | IQR | ||
| Small fish intake†, g/1000 kcal/d | 0·0 | 0–0 | 1·0 | 0·9–1·1 | 1·9 | 1·8–2·1 | 5·6 | 4·7–8·4 | 1·5 | 0·9–2·2 | < 0·001 |
| Non-small fish intake†,‡, g/1000 kcal/d | 8·6 | 6·7–19·2 | 10·9 | 7·8–20·4 | 18·3 | 8·5–22·5 | 20·4 | 17·0–30·7 | 17·7 | 8·1–22·4 | < 0·001 |
| Energy intake, kcal/d | 1478·4 | 1322·2–1613·0 | 1512·3 | 1375·0–1636·4 | 1549·3 | 1416·8–1673·2 | 1591·1 | 1457·6–1718·7 | 1535·0 | 1394·7–1664·8 | < 0·001 |
| Rice intake†, g/1000 kcal/d | 176·1 | 128·5–217·8 | 177·1 | 134·8–218·3 | 182·1 | 141·3–224·9 | 192·1 | 150·1–235·1 | 181·6 | 138·8–224·1 | < 0·001 |
| Meat intake†, g/1000 kcal/d | 22·1 | 15·2–32·7 | 23·0 | 16·5–33·1 | 23·8 | 16·8–34·1 | 24·2 | 16·0–35·5 | 23·3 | 16·4–33·9 | < 0·001 |
| Fruits intake†, g/1000 kcal/d | 20·3 | 10·9–49·1 | 25·5 | 14·0–56·1 | 39·2 | 20·1–66·5 | 53·0 | 23·4–82·8 | 35·1 | 16·5–63·9 | < 0·001 |
| Green and yellow vegetables intake†, g/1000 kcal/d | 33·4 | 21·7–52·3 | 38·6 | 25·9–56·6 | 47·6 | 32·7–67·7 | 59·3 | 41·3–82·2 | 44·5 | 29·0–65·5 | < 0·001 |
| Light-coloured vegetables intake†, g/1000 kcal/d | 37·6 | 24·6–53·1 | 41·1 | 28·5–56·2 | 46·8 | 33·8–62·8 | 55·7 | 41·1–73·7 | 45·2 | 31·3–61·7 | < 0·001 |
| Na intake, mg/1000 kcal/d | 1029·2 | 866·8–1213·5 | 1068·5 | 919·2–1243·1 | 1105·5 | 961·6–1280·6 | 1205·6 | 1042·2–1408·8 | 1102·5 | 946·7–1287·0 | < 0·001 |
| Dietary fibre intake, g/1000 kcal/d | 6·5 | 5·6–7·7 | 6·8 | 5·9–8·0 | 7·4 | 6·4–8·7 | 8·3 | 7·0–9·7 | 7·2 | 6·1–8·5 | < 0·001 |
| Ca intake, mg/1000 kcal/d | 312·2 | 254·5–378·8 | 326·0 | 271·8–389·6 | 342·9 | 290·6–406·7 | 381·6 | 323·5–452·1 | 340·7 | 283·9–407·7 | < 0·001 |
| Vitamin D intake, μg/1000 kcal/d | 3·0 | 2·5–4·3 | 3·8 | 3·0–4·8 | 4·6 | 3·5–5·5 | 6·2 | 5·2–7·6 | 4·5 | 3·2–5·7 | < 0·001 |
| n-3 HUFA intake, mg/1000 kcal/d | 313·5 | 258·1–453·7 | 386·3 | 294·8–495·4 | 460·3 | 338·5–555·1 | 563·7 | 470·4–712·7 | 446·2 | 313·4–559·3 | < 0·001 |
| Retinol intake, μg/1000 kcal/d | 484·6 | 380·1–660·4 | 560·2 | 421·3–761·0 | 640·1 | 469·5–834·9 | 710·4 | 525·1–922·6 | 602·3 | 444·0–808·8 | < 0·001 |
| Carotene intake, μg/1000 kcal/d | 1829·0 | 1419·8–2421·8 | 1952·6 | 1531·6–2492·0 | 2180·5 | 1714·6–2766·8 | 2510·6 | 1965·1–3166·5 | 2114·9 | 1628·8–2720·8 | < 0·001 |
| JDI score, points | |||||||||||
| 0–1 | 1368 | 24·4 | 2431 | 13·8 | 669 | 4·9 | 116 | 1·2 | 4584 | 9·9 | < 0·001 |
| 2 | 1219 | 21·8 | 3264 | 18·6 | 1521 | 11·1 | 343 | 3·7 | 6347 | 13·7 | |
| 3 | 1233 | 22·0 | 4185 | 23·8 | 2655 | 19·3 | 963 | 10·3 | 9036 | 19·5 | |
| 4 | 958 | 17·1 | 3927 | 22·4 | 3624 | 26·4 | 2013 | 21·6 | 10 522 | 22·8 | |
| 5 | 576 | 10·3 | 2624 | 14·9 | 3323 | 24·2 | 3021 | 32·3 | 9544 | 20·6 | |
| 6–7 | 245 | 4·4 | 1131 | 6·4 | 1954 | 14·2 | 2884 | 30·9 | 6214 | 13·4 | |
IQR, interquartile range; JDI, Japanese diet index; KOPS, Kyushu and Okinawa Population Study; MET, metabolic equivalent.
*
Values are numbers (percentages) unless indicated otherwise.
†
Food consumption of the total population including non-consumers was used.
‡
Excluded eighty-one females with missing data for the intake of non-small fish.