TABLE 1.
Demographic characteristics of healthy, premenopausal women according to whole grain serving and serum hs-CRP concentration per cycle (259 women)1
| Daily servings of whole grain2 |
hs-CRP categories2 |
||||||||
| Total cohort | 0 servings/d | 0.01–0.99 servings/d | ≥1 serving/d | P-value3 | Low, <1 mg/L | Moderate, 1–3 mg/L | Elevated, >3 mg/L | P-value3 | |
| Cycles, n | 509 | 123 | 218 | 168 | 337 | 137 | 35 | ||
| Demographics | |||||||||
| Age, y | 27.3 ± 8.2 | 26.9 ± 8.0 | 27.4 ± 8.1 | 27.8 ± 8.5 | 0.42 | 25.9 ± 7.8 | 30.2 ± 8.4 | 30.6 ± 8.1 | <0.001 |
| BMI, 2 | 24.1 ± 3.9 | 24.6 ± 4.0 | 24.0 ± 3.6 | 23.8 ± 4.0 | 0.15 | 22.8 ± 3.0 | 26.3 ± 4.2 | 27.7 ± 3.9 | <0.001 |
| Physical activity, n (%) | 0.74 | 0.78 | |||||||
| Low | 48 (9.5) | 15 (12.2) | 17 (7.8) | 16 (9.6) | 31 (9.2) | 12 (8.8) | 5 (14.3) | ||
| Moderate | 181 (36.0) | 50 (40.7) | 66 (30.3) | 66 (39.8) | 125 (37.2) | 48 (35.3) | 9 (25.7) | ||
| High | 279 (54.5) | 58 (47.2) | 135 (61.9) | 86 (50.6) | 181 (53.6) | 77 (55.9) | 21 (60.0) | ||
| Race, n (%) | 0.003 | 0.03 | |||||||
| Caucasian | 302 (59.4) | 55 (44.7) | 128 (58.7) | 119 (71.1) | 186 (55.1) | 94 (69.1) | 22 (62.9) | ||
| African-American | 101 (19.8) | 36 (29.3) | 43 (19.7) | 22 (12.7) | 63 (18.8) | 26 (19.1) | 12 (31.4) | ||
| Other | 106 (20.8) | 32 (26.0) | 47 (21.6) | 27 (16.3) | 88 (26.2) | 16 (11.8) | 2 (5.7) | ||
| Past or current smoker, n (%) | 92 (18.1) | 22 (17.9) | 41 (18.8) | 29 (17.5) | 0.77 | 50 (14.9) | 34 (25.0) | 8 (22.9) | 0.02 |
| Past OC use, n (%) | 273 (54.5) | 62 (51.2) | 123 (56.7) | 88 (54.0) | 0.77 | 155 (46.8) | 94 (69.6) | 24 (68.6) | <0.001 |
| Family history of CVD, n (%) | 237 (46.9) | 46 (38.3) | 106 (48.9) | 85 (50.9) | 0.09 | 148 (44.2) | 70 (51.9) | 19 (54.3) | 0.18 |
| Illness in past mo, n (%) | 111 (21.8) | 29 (23.6) | 50 (22.9) | 32 (19.1) | 0.57 | 59 (17.5) | 41 (29.9) | 13 (31.4) | 0.004 |
| NSAID use in past mo, n (%) | 149 (29.3) | 25 (20.3) | 59 (27.1) | 65 (38.7) | 0.001 | 92 (27.2) | 48 (35.0) | 9 (25.7) | 0.27 |
| Serum biomarkers4 | |||||||||
| hs-CRP, mg/L | 0.6 ± 1.2 | 0.7 ± 1.3 | 0.6 ± 1.2 | 0.5 ± 1.0 | 0.01 | 0.3 ± 0.8 | 1.5 ± 0.7 | 4.2 ± 0.8 | <0.001 |
| Homocysteine, μmol/L | 6.0 ± 1.4 | 6.0 ± 1.5 | 6.0 ± 1.3 | 5.9 ± 1.5 | 0.32 | 6.0 ± 1.4 | 5.8 ± 1.5 | 6.4 ± 1.5 | 0.10 |
| Cholesterol,5 mg/dL | 164.3 ± 27.4 | 165.6 ± 25.9 | 162.7 ± 26.5 | 165.7 ± 29.5 | 0.87 | 162.4 ± 26.0 | 166.4 ± 28.5 | 174.8 ± 33.4 | 0.99 |
| LDL-cholesterol, mg/dL | 100.3 ± 26.1 | 103.4 ± 25.4 | 98.7 ± 24.3 | 101.8 ± 27.2 | 0.14 | 99.1 ± 24.5 | 102.7 ± 26.5 | 110.4 ± 29.9 | 0.46 |
| HDL-cholesterol, mg/dL | 52.2 ± 12.0 | 52.8 ± 16.6 | 52.1 ± 11.4 | 53.4 ± 14.7 | 0.64 | 53.6 ± 15.0 | 51.6 ± 10.6 | 48.1 ± 13.3 | 0.12 |
| Triglycerides,6mg/dL | 59.4 ± 30.5 | 63.0 ± 29.2 | 58.3 ± 24.8 | 60.2 ± 26.6 | 0.02 | 55.6 ± 20.8 | 65.6 ± 30.3 | 81.2 ± 42.4 | 0.001 |
| Insulin,7mU/L | 8.3 ± 5.5 | 9.4 ± 5.4 | 8.5 ± 6.2 | 7.4 ± 4.2 | 0.08 | 7.5 ± 4.1 | 9.8 ± 7.7 | 10.5 ± 5.0 | 0.16 |
| Insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) | 1.8 ± 1.9 | 2.1 ± 1.3 | 1.9 ± 1.7 | 1.6 ± 1.0 | 0.01 | 1.6 ± 0.9 | 2.2 ± 2.1 | 2.4 ± 1.2 | 0.02 |
| Glucose,8mg/dL | 86.8 ± 5.1 | 86.8 ± 5.1 | 87.4 ± 5.3 | 86.1 ± 4.8 | 0.28 | 86.4 ± 4.7 | 87.2 ± 5.6 | 89.5 ± 5.8 | 0.30 |
| Blood pressure, mm Hg | |||||||||
| Systolic | 99.3 ± 8.8 | 100.2 ± 9.3 | 99.8 ± 9.0 | 97.9 ± 8.0 | 0.04 | 98.4 ± 8.5 | 99.7 ± 8.4 | 106.3 ± 10.3 | 0.01 |
| Diastolic | 61.3 ± 8.2 | 61.8 ± 8.5 | 61.6 ± 8.1 | 60.5 ± 8.1 | 0.24 | 60.4 ± 7.7 | 62.9 ± 8.3 | 63.5 ± 10.7 | 0.02 |
Values are mean ± SD or (%). OC, oral contraceptives; HOMA-IR, homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance.
Based on mean whole grain servings per day per cycle and mean serum hs-CRP concentrations per cycle. A whole grain serving was defined as 16 g or 1/2 cup (125 mL) of a 100% whole grain food.
p–values were calculated using generalized linear mixed models with random effects.
All makers were measured in serum except for glucose, which was measured in plasma.
To convert cholesterol (total, HDL, and LDL) from mg/dL to mmol/L, multiply by 0.026.
To convert triglycerides from mg/dL to mmol/L, multiply by 0.011.
To convert insulin from mU/L to pmol/L, multiply by 6.945.
To convert glucose from mg/dL to mmol/L, multiply by 0.0555.