Table 1.
Distributions of Risk Factors for Mortality Among 50,112 Participants in the Nurses’ Health Study in 1986
| Mean (SD) | Median | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile | ||
| Continuous variables | |||||
| Age, years | 52.5 (7.1) | 52.3 | 42.9 | 62.3 | |
| Body mass index at age 18 years, kg/m2 | 21.4 (2.8) | 20.9 | 18.3 | 24.9 | |
| Weight change since age 18 years, kg | 7.8 (9.9) | 6.8 | −2.7 | 20.5 | |
| Height, inchesa | 64.5 (2.4) | 64.0 | 62.0 | 68.0 | |
| Smoking amount/duration, pack-yearsb | 22.2 (18.5) | 18.0 | 2.0 | 48.0 | |
| Physical activity, MET-hours/week | 12.9 (14.5) | 7.7 | 0.9 | 34.2 | |
| Polyunsaturated fat, % energy | 6.0 (1.2) | 5.9 | 4.5 | 7.6 | |
| Glycemic load, GL unitsc | 94.4 (16.6) | 94.0 | 74.0 | 115.0 | |
| Dietary cholesterol, mg/1,000 kcal per day | 179.1 (44.2) | 174.4 | 128.6 | 233.5 | |
| Cereal fiber, g/day, energy adjusted | 3.7 (1.6) | 3.4 | 2.0 | 5.8 | |
| Time since menopause, years | 5.0 (5.8) | 2.8 | 0.0 | 13.1 | |
| No. | % | ||||
| Categorical variables | |||||
| Smoking status | |||||
| Never | 22,698 | 45.3 | |||
| Past | 17,148 | 34.2 | |||
| Current | 10,266 | 20.5 | |||