Table 1.
Descriptive characteristics of the EPIC-Norfolk cohort by sex measured at baseline from 1993–1997.
| Variable | Variable distribution | ||
| Men | Women | ||
| N | 10141 | 12316 | |
| Age (years) | 58.4 ± 9.2 | 57.9 ± 9.2 | |
| Body Mass Index (kg/m2) | 26.5 ± 3.3 | 26.2 ± 4.3 | |
| Cigarette smoking habit | |||
| Never | 34.5 (3477) | 56.8 (6931) | |
| Former | 53.1 (5354) | 31.9 (3891) | |
| Current | 12.4 (1249) | 11.4 (1389) | |
| Social Class | |||
| I | Professional | 7.8 (787) | 6.5 (795) |
| II | Manager | 38.2 (3875) | 35.2 (4329) |
| III nm | Skilled non-manual | 12.4 (1260) | 19.6 (2419) |
| III m | Skilled manual | 25.2 (2559) | 21.4 (2634) |
| IV | Semi-skilled | 13.4 (1362) | 13.4 (1652) |
| V | Unskilled | 2.9 (298) | 4.0 (487) |
| Finished school | 70.6 (7161) | 53.6 (6599) | |
| Self rate health | |||
| Excellent | 18.4 (1864) | 16.1 (1983) | |
| Good | 63.9 (6478) | 64.9 (7990) | |
| Moderate | 16.3 (1656) | 17.6 (2166) | |
| Poor | 1.4 (143) | 1.4 (177) | |
| Units of alcohol per week | |||
| 0 | 9.5 (960) | 16.8 (2074 | |
| 1–13.9 | 63.4 (6432) | 75.3 (9270) | |
| ≥ 14 | 27.1 (2749) | 7.9 (972) | |
| Exercise | |||
| Inactive | 29.3 (2966) | 28.8 (3543) | |
| Moderately inactive | 24.7 (2505) | 32.6 (4009) | |
| Moderately active | 23.3 (2367) | 22.7 (2799) | |
| Active | 22.7 (2302) | 16.0 (1965) | |
(Data are % (n) or mean ± s.d.)