Table 2.
Demographic and Clinical Characteristics by Mediterranean Diet Score Tertile
| Characteristic | Low Tertile (MeDi Score 0–3) | Middle Tertile (MeDi Score 4–5) | High Tertile (MeDi Score 6–9) | P Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cohort (WHICAP 1999), No. (%) | 402 (60) | 500 (62) | 321 (63) | .66 |
| Age, mean (SD), y | 76.5 (6.8) | 76.4 (6.6) | 75.8 (6.2) | .15 |
| Male sex, No. (%) | 210 (32) | 241 (30) | 179 (35) | .10 |
| Education, mean (SD), y | 10.5 (4.5) | 10.7 (4.8) | 10.9 (4.6) | .45 |
| Ethnicity, No. (%) | ||||
| White | 220 (33) | 265 (33) | 158 (31) | .006 |
| Black | 250 (38) | 261 (32) | 145 (29) | |
| Hispanic | 190 (29) | 271 (34) | 193 (38) | |
| Other | 7 (1) | 13 (2) | 11 (2) | |
| Presence of ε4 allele, No. (%) | 131 (25) | 180 (27) | 121 (28) | .46 |
| Smoking, No. (%) | 96 (14) | 88 (11) | 39 (8) | .001 |
| Comorbidity index, mean (SD) | 1.9 (1.4) | 2.0 (1.5) | 1.9 (1.3) | .46 |
| Energy, mean (SD), kcal | 1512 (590) | 1400 (473) | 1425 (545) | <.001* |
| Body mass index, mean (SD)† | 27.8 (6.0) | 27.6 (5.3) | 27.6 (6.0) | .68 |
| Stroke, No. (%) | 58 (9) | 64 (8) | 31 (6) | .21 |
| Diabetes mellitus, No. (%) | 112 (18) | 151 (20) | 89 (19) | .72 |
| Hypertension, No. (%) | 381 (61) | 500 (65) | 311 (64) | .33 |
| Heart disease, No. (%) | 161 (26) | 189 (25) | 122 (25) | .86 |
| TC, mean (SD), mg/dL | 201.0 (38.2) | 201.8 (39.8) | 204.0 (39.7) | .48 |
| HDL, mean (SD), mg/dL | 48.0 (15.2) | 48.4 (15.8) | 48.2 (15.1) | .89 |
| TG, mean (SD), mg/dL | 153.9 (84.3) | 158.3 (86.4) | 153.2 (81.6) | .55 |
| LDL, mean (SD), mg/dL | 122.3 (33.5) | 121.7 (34.5) | 125.2 (34.6) | .25 |
Abbreviations: HDL, high-density lipoprotein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; MeDi, Mediterranean diet; TC, total cholesterol; TG, triglycerides; WHICAP, Washington Heights–Inwood Columbia Aging Project.
SI conversion factors: To convert total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein to mmol/L, multiply by 0.02586; triglycerides to mmol/L, multiply by 0.01129.
*
Post hoc Scheffe test for energy (kilocalorie): low vs middle tertile, P<.001; low vs high tertile, P = .02.
†
Body mass index is calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared.