Table 2.
Age standardized baseline characteristics according to milk chocolate* intake at baseline. Values are mean (SD) unless stated otherwise
| Frequency of milk chocolate intake | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NHS | NHSII | HPFS | ||||||||||||
| 0 or <1 serving/month | 1 serving/month to <1 serving/week | 1-4 servings/week | ≥5 servings/week | 0 or <1 serving/month | 1 serving/month to <1 serving/week | 1-4 servings/week | ≥5 servings/week | Never or <1 serving/month | 1 serving/month to <1 serving/week | 1-4 servings/week | ≥5 servings/week | |||
| No of participants | 19 327 | 11 269 | 7688 | 1116 | 20 822 | 20 380 | 14 901 | 2084 | 5520 | 4611 | 3457 | 479 | ||
| Milk chocolate (servings/week) | 0 (0) | 0.5 (0) | 1.7 (1) | 7.5 (3.9) | 0 (0) | 0.5 (0) | 1.7 (1.0) | 7.2 (3.6) | 0 (0) | 0.5 (0) | 1.7 (1.0) | 7.3 (3.5) | ||
| Dark chocolate (servings/week) | 0.4 (1.6) | 0.4 (1.1) | 0.7 (1.4) | 1.3 (2.7) | 0.7 (1.9) | 0.7 (1.6) | 1.0 (1.8) | 1.9 (3) | 0.5 (1.7) | 0.6 (1.6) | 1.0 (1.6) | 2.2 (3.4) | ||
| Total chocolate† (servings/week) | 0.4 (1.6) | 0.9 (1.1) | 2.4 (1.8) | 8.9 (4.8) | 0.7 (1.9) | 1.2 (1.6) | 2.7 (2.1) | 9.1 (4.7) | 0.5 (1.7) | 1.1 (1.6) | 2.7 (2.0) | 9.6 (5.3) | ||
| Age (years) | 71.3 (6.6) | 69.2 (6.6) | 69.7 (6.9) | 70.5 (7.3) | 52.8 (4.6) | 52.1 (4.7) | 51.9 (4.6) | 52 (4.6) | 68.8 (7.5) | 68.0 (7.4) | 67.9 (7.5) | 68.5 (7.8) | ||
| White (% (No)) | 97.7 (18 884) | 97.6 (11004) | 98.4 (7562) | 98.4 (1098) | 95.6 (19 912) | 96.3 (19 620) | 97.3 (14 497) | 98.0 (2043) | 95.3 (5262) | 96.2 (4437) | 96.3 (3328) | 97.1 (465) | ||
| Current smoking (% (No)) | 5.8 (1114) | 6.2 (701) | 7.6 (586) | 10.5 (117) | 5.8 (1210) | 6.4 (1312) | 6.7 (991) | 7.5 (156) | 2.8 (155) | 2.9 (134) | 3.4 (117) | 6.3 (30) | ||
| Alcohol intake (g/day) | 7.7 (12.1) | 6.2 (10.4) | 5.2 (9.2) | 4.4 (8.6) | 7.9 (11.9) | 6.5 (9.9) | 5.5 (8.9) | 4.3 (7.8) | 15.7 (18.0) | 13.6 (15.7) | 12.4 (15.1) | 10.7 (15.1) | ||
| Median (SD) physical activity (MET-h/week) | 23.9 (27.9) | 21.2 (24.4) | 20.8 (25.3) | 20.3 (25.4) | 26.1 (31.8) | 22.4 (27.0) | 21.8 (27.8) | 20.8 (26.5) | 42.2 (35.1) | 42 (34.6) | 41.8 (35.7) | 41.1 (35.1) | ||
| BMI | 25.7 (4.9) | 26.5 (5.0) | 26.6 (5.1) | 26.2 (5.3) | 26.2 (5.6) | 27.1 (6.0) | 27.6 (6.4) | 27.7 (6.5) | 25.6 (3.5) | 26.2 (3.6) | 26.3 (3.6) | 26.2 (3.2) | ||
| Family history of diabetes (% (No)) | 22.3 (4304) | 23.2 (2616) | 23.8 (1828) | 21.9 (244) | 14.3 (2986) | 15.0 (3051) | 14.7 (2196) | 13.9 (290) | 17.6 (973) | 17.9 (827) | 17.5 (604) | 16.5 (79) | ||
| Multivitamin use (% (No)) | 73.5 (14 215) | 72.8 (8202) | 71.1 (5470) | 69.9 (780) | 59.8 (12 447) | 58.9 (11 997) | 57.0 (8487) | 57.7 (1203) | 69.8 (3853) | 68.6 (3162) | 68.3 (2362) | 67.1 (321) | ||
| Use of any postmenopausal hormone (% (No)) | 75.1 (14 521) | 75.0 (8457) | 74.7 (5742) | 75.7 (845) | 41.1 (8559) | 41.0 (8349) | 40.4 (6015) | 41.8 (872) | – | – | – | – | ||
| Use of oral contraceptives (% (No)) | – | – | – | – | 12.2 (2537) | 12.5 (2544) | 13.5 (2016) | 13.8 (287) | – | – | – | – | ||
| Baseline hypertension (% (No)) | 56.4 (10 909) | 58.0 (6534) | 56.9 (4378) | 59.9 (668) | 25.4 (5296) | 27.3 (5560) | 27.8 (4135) | 27.8 (578) | 45.8 (2530) | 45.6 (2104) | 45.0 (1557) | 47.7 (228) | ||
| Baseline hypocholesterolemia (% (No)) | 66.7 (12 889) | 69.6 (7844) | 69.8 (5369) | 71.6 (799) | 40.4 (8406) | 42.4 (8645) | 43.0 (6412) | 46.3 (964) | 56.4 (3111) | 57.2 (2638) | 58.3 (2016) | 56.8 (272) | ||
| Total energy intake (kcal/day) | 1564 (501) | 1696 (520) | 1849 (548) | 2099 (568) | 1674 (529) | 1806 (535) | 1961 (557) | 2211 (572) | 1880 (579) | 2041 (603) | 2244 (646) | 2560 (679) | ||
| AHEI | 62.1 (12.5) | 59.2 (11.8) | 57.1 (11.6) | 54.4 (11.4) | 65.7 (12.8) | 62.0 (12.3) | 59.3 (12.2) | 56.5 (12.1) | 64.9 (12.2) | 62.1 (11.6) | 59.9 (11.3) | 57.0 (11.2) | ||
| Red or processed meats (servings/day) | 0.7 (0.5) | 0.8 (0.5) | 0.8 (0.6) | 0.9 (0.6) | 0.7 (0.6) | 0.9 (0.6) | 1.0 (0.6) | 1.0 (0.6) | 0.9 (0.7) | 1.1 (0.7) | 1.2 (0.8) | 1.2 (0.8) | ||
| Fruit and vegetables (servings/day) | 5.1 (2.7) | 4.9 (2.5) | 4.9 (2.5) | 4.6 (2.5) | 5.5 (3.2) | 5.2 (2.8) | 5.0 (2.7) | 4.7 (2.6) | 6.1 (2.5) | 5.8 (2.3) | 5.9 (2.3) | 5.6 (2.2) | ||
| Whole grain (servings/day) | 1.3 (1.0) | 1.3 (1.0) | 1.3 (1.0) | 1.2 (1.0) | 1.2 (1.0) | 1.2 (0.9) | 1.2 (0.9) | 1.2 (1.0) | 0.7 (0.7) | 0.7 (0.6) | 0.7 (0.6) | 0.7 (0.6) | ||
| Sugar sweetened beverages (servings/day) | 0.1 (0.4) | 0.2 (0.4) | 0.2 (0.5) | 0.3 (0.7) | 0.2 (0.5) | 0.2 (0.6) | 0.3 (0.7) | 0.3 (0.8) | 0.1 (0.4) | 0.2 (0.4) | 0.2 (0.5) | 0.3 (0.5) | ||
| Tea (servings/day) | 0.4 (0.8) | 0.4 (0.8) | 0.4 (0.8) | 0.5 (0.9) | 0.9 (1.3) | 0.8 (1.2) | 0.9 (1.2) | 0.9 (1.3) | 0.6 (1.0) | 0.5 (0.9) | 0.5 (0.9) | 0.5 (0.9) | ||
| Coffee (servings/day) | 1.2 (1.3) | 1.2 (1.3) | 1.1 (1.3) | 1.1 (1.4) | 1.3 (1.3) | 1.3 (1.4) | 1.1 (1.4) | 1.0 (1.4) | 1.6 (1.5) | 1.6 (1.5) | 1.6 (1.5) | 1.4 (1.6) | ||
| Sweets and desserts (servings/day) | 0.8 (0.9) | 1.1 (1.0) | 1.6 (1.2) | 2.9 (1.6) | 0.5 (0.6) | 0.8 (0.6) | 1.2 (0.8) | 2.4 (1.3) | 0.7 (0.9) | 1.1 (0.9) | 1.6 (1.1) | 3.0 (1.7) | ||
| Saturated fat (% energy) | 9.3 (2.8) | 10.2 (2.6) | 11 (2.5) | 13.5 (2.8) | 9.7 (2.7) | 10.4 (2.4) | 11.1 (2.3) | 13.4 (2.5) | 9.1 (2.7) | 10.0 (2.5) | 10.8 (2.3) | 12.9 (2.4) | ||
| Added sugar (g/day) | 34.8 (20.4) | 40.5 (19.8) | 45.5 (20.2) | 57 (20.4) | 38.2 (24.3) | 43.8 (23.3) | 50.0 (23.8) | 61.9 (23.2) | 40.2 (24.8) | 47.4 (22.9) | 55.2 (24.5) | 68.2 (25.5) | ||
| Cereal fiber (g/day) | 6.7 (3.3) | 6.4 (2.9) | 6.1 (2.6) | 5.3 (2.6) | 7.1 (3.7) | 7.0 (3.1) | 6.6 (3) | 5.8 (2.7) | 7.6 (3.9) | 7.2 (3.3) | 6.9 (3.1) | 6.0 (2.7) | ||
| Epicatechin (mg/day) | 10.5 (7.7) | 9.5 (6.5) | 9.6 (6.2) | 11.0 (7.1) | 13 (9.6) | 11.4 (7.7) | 11.5 (7.4) | 13.3 (8.4) | 12.9 (9.1) | 11.7 (7.4) | 11.8 (7.1) | 14.2 (8.3) | ||
| Total flavonoids (mg/day) | 382.4 (305.2) | 349.3 (275.6) | 334.1 (254.9) | 343.8 (259.4) | 453.4 (379.4) | 395.1 (314.0) | 377.3 (301.0) | 379.6 (284.0) | 426.4 (300.7) | 376.9 (241.8) | 362.4 (245.2) | 369.3 (212.3) | ||
1 kcal=4.18 kJ=0.00418 MJ.
AHEI=Alternate Healthy Eating Index; BMI=body mass index; NHS=Nurses’ Health Study; NHSII=Nurses’ Health Study II; HPFS=Health Professionals Follow-up Study; MET-h=metabolic equivalent tasks per hour; SD=standard deviation.
*
Baseline years were 2006 for NHS, 2007 for NHSII, and 2006 for HPFS.
†
Cumulative averages of total chocolate intake in 1980-2006 (NHS), 1991-2007 (NHSII), and 1986-2006 (HPFS).