Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of study participants
| Baseline characteristic | Case participants (N = 280) | Control participants (N = 555) |
|---|---|---|
| Mean age at blood draw, years (SD) | 59.3 ± 6.6 | 59.3 ± 6.6 |
| Nonwhite (%) | 9 (3) | 6 (1) |
| Current or past smoker No. (%) | 161 (56) | 317 (57) |
| Post-menopausal, No. (%) | 244 (87) | 490 (88) |
| Current use of hormones, No, (%) 1 | 86 (35) | 213 (44) |
| Body mass index, mean (SD) | 26.0 (6.0) | 25.5 (5.8) |
| Physical activity, mean (SD) 2 | 19.1 (19.7) | 17.4 (18.6) |
| Regular aspirin use (≥2 325-mg tablets/week), No. (%) | 114 (41) | 253 (46) |
| Regular NSAID use (≥2 tablets/week), No. (%) | 43 (15) | 107 (19) |
| Multivitamin use, No. (%) | 102 (36) | 208 (37) |
| Colorectal cancer in a parent or sibling | 40 (14) | 72 (13) |
| History of previous endoscopy, No. (%) | 34 (12) | 89 (16) |
| History of colon polyp, No. (%) | 21 (8) | 25 (5) |
| Calcium, mg/day | 995 (546) | 1069 (573) |
| Folate, mg/day | 436 (277) | 470 (238) |
| Beef, pork, or lamb as main dish, servings/day | 0.30 (0.18) | 0.30 (0.17) |
| Alcohol, g/day | 5.8 (9.9) | 5.4 (9.6) |
| C-reactive protein (mg/L), median (IQR) 3 | 1.02 (0.59–2.29) | 1.24 (0.55–3.14) |
| Interleukin-6 (pg/ml), median (IQR) | 1.28 (0.86–2.05) | 1.22 (0.84–1.98) |
| sTNF-R2 (pg/mL), median (IQR) | 2636 (2202–3083) | 2528 (2116–2997) |
1
Percentage is among post-menopausal women.
2
METs – metabolic equivalent task score hours per week.
3
Among 118 case participants and 224 control participants who never used postmenopausal hormones