Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of study participants by quintile of processed meat intake and fruit and vegetable intake per 1,000 kilocalories
| Quintile 1 | Quintile2 | Quintile 3 | Quintile 4 | Quintile 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of participants | 109,154 | 109,154 | 109,154 | 109,154 | 109,154 |
| Processed meat intake | |||||
| Median processed meat intake* | 0.08 | 0.17 | 0.28 | 0.43 | 0.78 |
| Men | |||||
| No. of men | 45,652 | 56,642 | 65,942 | 73,821 | 80,290 |
| Age† (years) | 62.8 | 62.4 | 62.2 | 62.2 | 62.3 |
| Non-Hispanic White (%) | 88.8 | 92.2 | 93.1 | 93.7 | 93.7 |
| College graduate/postgraduate (%) | 51.6 | 47.7 | 45.6 | 42.9 | 39.2 |
| Height† (meters) | 1.78 | 1.78 | 1.78 | 1.79 | 1.78 |
| Previous cancer diagnosis‡ (%) | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.6 | 8.3 | 8.3 |
| Energy intake† (kcal/day) | 1,945 | 1,962 | 1,997 | 2,071 | 2,049 |
| Nitrite intake†,§ | 0.67 | 0.61 | 0.61 | 0.64 | 0.74 |
| Nitrate intake†,§ | 55.5 | 46.3 | 43.3 | 41.2 | 40.3 |
| Red meat intake*,† | 0.54 | 0.90 | 1.13 | 1.34 | 1.65 |
| Fruit and vegetable intake†,|| | 2.7 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 1.9 |
| Women | |||||
| No. of women | 63,502 | 52,512 | 43,212 | 35,333 | 28,864 |
| Age† (years) | 62.1 | 61.8 | 61.8 | 61.9 | 62.2 |
| Non-Hispanic White (%) | 88.0 | 90.7 | 90.5 | 90.0 | 89.6 |
| College graduate/postgraduate (%) | 35.7 | 30.8 | 27.6 | 25.9 | 23.8 |
| Height† (meters) | 1.63 | 1.63 | 1.63 | 1.63 | 1.63 |
| Previous cancer diagnosis‡ (%) | 10.6 | 10.6 | 10.4 | 10.8 | 11.0 |
| Energy intake† (kcal/day) | 1,539 | 1,536 | 1,574 | 1,633 | 1,623 |
| Nitrite intake†,§ | 0.71 | 0.65 | 0.65 | 0.67 | 0.76 |
| Nitrate intake†,§ | 72.0 | 60.1 | 55.7 | 54.2 | 53.2 |
| Red meat intake*,† | 0.51 | 0.84 | 1.04 | 1.19 | 1.42 |
| Fruit and vegetable intake†,|| | 3.1 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.3 |
| Fruit and vegetable intake | |||||
| Median fruit and vegetable intake|| | 1.1 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 3.8 |
| Men | |||||
| No. of men | 78,929 | 72,612 | 65,498 | 57,683 | 47,625 |
| Age† (years) | 61.7 | 62.2 | 62.5 | 62.7 | 62.9 |
| Non-Hispanic White (%) | 93.4 | 93.9 | 93.3 | 92.2 | 89.0 |
| College graduate/postgraduate (%) | 35.8 | 44.9 | 48.0 | 48.9 | 48.9 |
| Height† (meters) | 1.78 | 1.79 | 1.78 | 1.78 | 1.78 |
| Previous cancer diagnosis‡ (%) | 8.2 | 8.4 | 8.6 | 8.6 | 8.1 |
| Energy intake† (kcal/day) | 2,278 | 2,063 | 1,954 | 1,856 | 1,769 |
| Nitrite intake†,§ | 0.58 | 0.63 | 0.67 | 0.70 | 0.76 |
| Nitrate intake†,§ | 24.0 | 35.9 | 44.8 | 55.1 | 77.1 |
| Processed meat intake*,† | 0.48 | 0.46 | 0.43 | 0.39 | 0.30 |
| Red meat intake*,† | 1.38 | 1.33 | 1.20 | 1.03 | 0.77 |
| Women | |||||
| No. of women | 30,225 | 36,542 | 43,656 | 51,471 | 61,529 |
| Age† (years) | 61.2 | 61.7 | 62.0 | 62.2 | 62.3 |
| Non-Hispanic White (%) | 90.8 | 91.7 | 91.4 | 90.0 | 86.4 |
| College graduate/postgraduate (%) | 21.3 | 26.8 | 30.5 | 32.4 | 33.5 |
| Height† (meters) | 1.63 | 1.63 | 1.63 | 1.63 | 1.63 |
| Previous cancer diagnosis‡ (%) | 10.4 | 10.8 | 10.4 | 11.1 | 10.5 |
| Energy intake† (kcal/day) | 1,712 | 1,651 | 1,599 | 1,537 | 1,462 |
| Nitrite intake†,§ | 0.58 | 0.63 | 0.66 | 0.70 | 0.78 |
| Nitrate intake†,§ | 26.6 | 39.8 | 50.2 | 63.4 | 95.4 |
| Processed meat intake*,† | 0.37 | 0.35 | 0.32 | 0.29 | 0.22 |
| Red meat intake*,† | 1.13 | 1.10 | 1.01 | 0.88 | 0.66 |
*
MPED ounce equivalents/1,000 kcal per day.
†
Mean values.
‡
Other than non-melanoma skin cancer per cancer registry diagnosis or other than basal-cell carcinoma per participant self-report.
§
mg/1,000 kcal per day.
||
MPED cup equivalents/1,000 kcal per day.