TABLE 1.
Baseline characteristics of participants included by quartiles of the MEDAS‐14 score.
| Total | Quartile 1 (least healthy) | Quartile 2 | Quartile 3 | Quartile 4 (healthiest) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | 162 999 (100) | 55 165 (33.8) | 31 401 (19.3) | 54 838 (33.6) | 21 595 (13.3) |
| Original score, mean (SD) | 5.3 (2.0) | 3.1 (1.0) | 5.0 (0) | 6.4 (0.5) | 8.5 (0.7) |
| Baseline age, years; mean (SD) | 56.2 (7.9) | 55.8 (8.1) | 56.2 (8.0) | 56.4 (7.8) | 56.4 (7.7) |
| Sex, n (%) | |||||
| Women | 89 555 (54.9) | 26 991 (48.9) | 17 034 (54.2) | 31 939 (58.2) | 13 591 (62.9) |
| Men | 73 444 (45.1) | 28 174 (51.1) | 14 367 (45.8) | 22 899 (41.8) | 8004 (37.1) |
| Deprivation index, mean (SD) | −1.6 (2.8) | −1.6 (2.9) | −1.7 (2.8) | −1.7 (2.8) | −1.5 (2.9) |
| Ethnicity, n (%) | |||||
| White | 156 532 (96.0) | 53 199 (96.4) | 30 129 (96.0) | 52 523 (95.8) | 20 681 (95.8) |
| Others | 6467 (4.0) | 1966 (3.6) | 1272 (4.0) | 2315 (4.2) | 914 (4.2) |
| Smoking status, n (%) | |||||
| Never | 92 738 (56.9) | 31 459 (57.0) | 18 122 (57.7) | 31 246 (57.0) | 11 911 (55.2) |
| Previous | 58 195 (35.7) | 18 753 (34.0) | 10 894 (34.7) | 20 130 (36.7) | 8418 (39.0) |
| Current | 12 066 (7.4) | 4953 (9.0) | 2385 (7.6) | 3462 (6.3) | 1266 (5.8) |
| Type of physical activity, n (%) | |||||
| Walking for pleasure (not as a means of transport) | 122 292 (75.0) | 38 844 (70.4) | 23 423 (74.6) | 42 631 (77.7) | 17 394 (80.6) |
| Other exercises (e.g. swimming, cycling, keep fit, bowling) | 20 231 (12.4) | 7236 (13.1) | 3927 (12.5) | 6552 (12.0) | 2516 (11.7) |
| Strenuous sports | 1288 (0.8) | 480 (0.9) | 240 (0.8) | 419 (0.7) | 149 (0.6) |
| Light DIY (e.g. pruning, watering the lawn) | 9476 (5.8) | 4117 (7.5) | 1892 (6.0) | 2671 (4.9) | 796 (3.7) |
| Heavy DIY (e.g. weeding, lawn mowing, carpentry, digging) | 3020 (1.9) | 1369 (2.5) | 604 (1.9) | 803 (1.5) | 244 (1.1) |
| None of the above or prefer not to answer | 6692 (4.1) | 3119 (5.6) | 1315 (4.2) | 1762 (3.2) | 496 (2.3) |
| Alcohol frequency intake, n (%) | |||||
| Daily or almost daily | 37 852 (23.2) | 9504 (17.2) | 6613 (21.1) | 14 690 (26.8) | 7045 (32.6) |
| 3‐4 times a week | 41 334 (25.4) | 11 913 (21.6) | 7751 (24.7) | 15 231 (27.8) | 6439 (29.8) |
| Once or twice a week | 40 435 (24.8) | 14 905 (27.0) | 8106 (25.8) | 12 853 (23.4) | 4571 (21.2) |
| 1‐3 times a month | 17 759 (10.9) | 7408 (13.4) | 3705 (11.8) | 5099 (9.3) | 1547 (7.2) |
| Special occasions only | 15 809 (9.7) | 6979 (12.7) | 3260 (10.4) | 4325 (7.9) | 1242 (5.8) |
| Never | 9810 (6.0) | 4456 (8.1) | 1966 (6.2) | 2637 (4.8) | 751 (3.4) |
| Hyperglycaemia/diabetes, yes; n (%) | 23 156 (14.2) | 8321 (15.1) | 4423 (14.1) | 7521 (13.7) | 2891 (13.4) |
| Low HDL, yes; n (%) | 28 566 (17.5) | 11 862 (21.5) | 5616 (17.9) | 8398 (15.3) | 2690 (12.5) |
| High triglycerides, yes; n (%) | 60 655 (37.2) | 23 300 (42.4) | 11 950 (38.1) | 18 912 (34.5) | 6413 (29.7) |
| Central obesity, yes; n (%) | 48 168 (29.6) | 19 188 (34.8) | 9547 (30.4) | 14 710 (26.8) | 4723 (21.9) |
| High blood pressure/hypertension, yes; n (%) | 110 657 (67.9) | 38 631 (70.0) | 21 443 (68.3) | 36 711 (66.9) | 13 872 (64.2) |
Note: Descriptive characteristics by quartiles of the score are presented as means (SD) for quantitative variables and as frequencies and percentages for categorical variables.
Abbreviations: HDL, high‐density lipoprotein; n, number; SD, standard deviation.