TABLE 4.
Baseline characteristics of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Observational Study cohort according to Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) quintiles1
| Quintiles |
||||||
| 1: <34.5 (n = 16,975) | 2: 34.5–42.4 (n = 17,152) | 3: 42.5–49.4 (n = 18,032) | 4: 49.5–57.4 (n = 19,200) | 5: ≥57.5 (n = 18,498) | P for trend2 | |
| Median AHEI score3 | 28.5 (24.5, 31.5) | 38.5 (36.5, 40.5) | 45.5 (43.5, 47.5) | 52.5 (50.5, 54.5) | 62.5 (59.5, 66.5) | <0.001 |
| Age (y)4 | 63.0 (57.0, 69.0) | 64.0 (57.0, 69.0) | 64.0 (58.0, 69.0) | 64.0 (58.0, 69.0) | 64.0 (58.0, 70.0) | <0.001 |
| African American race [n (%)] | 2197 (12.9) | 1461 (8.5) | 1230 (6.8) | 1086 (5.7) | 778 (4.2) | <0.001 |
| Diabetes [n (%)] | 991 (5.8) | 851 (5.0) | 744 (4.1) | 655 (3.4) | 382 (2.1) | <0.001 |
| Coronary artery disease [n (%)] | 658 (3.9) | 587 (3.4) | 597 (3.3) | 588 (3.1) | 573 (3.1) | <0.001 |
| BMI (kg/m2)4 | 27.8 (24.3, 32.2) | 26.8 (23.8, 31.1) | 26.3 (23.4, 30.2) | 25.6 (23.0, 29.1) | 24.6 (22.3, 27.7) | <0.001 |
| HDL cholesterol (mg/dL)5 | 57.0 (48.0, 71.0) | 60.5 (50.0, 72.0) | 59.0 (50.0, 72.0) | 62.0 (52.0, 76.0) | 66.0 (56.0, 77.0) | <0.001 |
| LDL cholesterol (mg/dL)5 | 126.0 (103.0, 151.0) | 123.0 (102.0, 147.0) | 126.5 (103.0, 144.0) | 121.0 (96.0, 143.0) | 120.0 (101.5, 148.0) | 0.279 |
| Triglycerides (mg/dL)5 | 132.0 (95.0, 187.5) | 133.0 (97.0, 182.0) | 129.5 (99.0, 188.0) | 131.0 (97.0, 181.0) | 120.0 (94.0, 150.0) | 0.004 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg)4 | 127.0 (116.0, 139.0) | 126.0 (115.0, 139.0) | 125.0 (114.0, 138.0) | 125.0 (113.0, 137.0) | 123.0 (112.0, 136.0) | <0.001 |
| Smoking status [n (%)]6 | <0.001 | |||||
| Never | 8644 (50.9) | 8895 (51.9) | 9165 (50.8) | 9595 (50.0) | 8705 (47.1) | |
| Past | 6140 (36.2) | 6736 (39.3) | 7672 (42.5) | 8644 (45.0) | 9049 (48.9) | |
| Current | 1975 (11.6) | 1269 (7.4) | 975 (5.4) | 748 (3.9) | 492 (2.7) | |
| Physical activity (METs/wk)4 | 3.8 (0.0, 11.7) | 7.5 (1.9, 16.0) | 9.8 (3.5, 19.0) | 12.5 (5.0, 22.5) | 16.7 (8.3, 27.3) | <0.001 |
| Education [n (%)]7 | <0.001 | |||||
| ≤ High school diploma/GED | 6010 (35.4) | 4359 (25.4) | 3562 (19.8) | 2822 (14.5) | 1881 (10.2) | |
| Some school after high school | 6739 (39.7) | 6679 (38.9) | 6813 (37.8) | 6624 (34.5) | 5629 (30.4) | |
| College graduate | 4087 (24.1) | 5973 (34.8) | 7526 (41.7) | 9605 (50.0) | 10,830 (58.5) | |
| Energy intake (kcal/d)4 | 1240.0 (940.1, 1637.3) | 1434.8 (1099.0, 1865.0) | 1518.7 (1182.0, 1935.7) | 1561.5 (1242.1, 1944.0) | 1580.6 (1291.8, 1940.4) | <0.001 |
| Fat intake (% of energy)4 | 36.6 (30.9, 41.5) | 32.7 (27.4, 38.4) | 29.8 (25.1, 35.4) | 27.3 (22.8, 32.2) | 24.1 (19.7, 28.7) | <0.001 |
| Saturated fat intake (% of energy)4 | 12.5 (10.5, 14.6) | 11.0 (9.1, 13.0) | 9.9 (8.2, 11.8) | 8.8 (7.2, 10.6) | 7.2 (5.8, 8.9) | <0.001 |
| Polyunsaturated fat intake (% of energy)4 | 6.6 (5.4, 8.1) | 6.4 (5.1, 7.9) | 6.1 (4.9, 7.5) | 5.8 (4.7, 7.2) | 5.6 (4.5, 6.9) | <0.001 |
| Monounsaturated fat intake (% of energy)4 | 13.9 (11.6, 16.0) | 12.4 (10.2, 14.7) | 11.2 (9.2, 13.5) | 10.2 (8.3, 12.3) | 9.0 (7.1, 10.9) | <0.001 |
| trans Fat intake (% of energy)4 | 2.6 (2.0, 3.4) | 2.2 (1.7, 2.9) | 1.9 (1.5, 2.6) | 1.6 (1.2, 2.1) | 1.2 (0.9, 1.6) | <0.001 |
| Cholesterol intake (% of energy)4 | 140.4 (112.2, 180.2) | 127.0 (101.4, 160.4) | 118.4 (94.6, 149.1) | 109.9 (86.2, 138.5) | 95.7 (72.7, 122.9) | <0.001 |
| Glycemic load, available carbohydrates4 | 71.6 (54.0, 95.5) | 85.9 (64.9, 113.0) | 93.5 (72.7, 119.9) | 99.1 (78.7, 124.2) | 104.5 (83.6, 129.1) | <0.001 |
| Glycemic index, available carbohydrates4 | 54.1 (51.4, 56.7) | 53.1 (50.6, 55.4) | 52.2 (50.0, 54.4) | 51.5 (49.3, 53.6) | 50.6 (48.5, 52.6) | <0.001 |
| Fruit and vegetable intake (servings/d)4 | 2.1 (1.5, 2.7) | 3.1 (2.4, 4.0) | 4.1 (3.1, 5.1) | 5.1 (4.0, 6.3) | 6.3 (5.2, 7.7) | <0.001 |
| Nuts and soy protein (servings/d)4 | 0.03 (0.00, 0.08) | 0.07 (0.02, 0.14) | 0.08 (0.03, 0.21) | 0.11 (0.03, 0.28) | 0.21 (0.08, 0.49) | <0.001 |
| White:red meat4 | 0.55 (0.35, 0.90) | 0.78 (0.49, 1.34) | 1.01 (0.63, 1.78) | 1.36 (0.85, 2.52) | 2.39 (1.36, 5.08) | <0.001 |
| Cereal fiber (g/d)4 | 9.6 (7.4, 12.0) | 13.1 (10.4, 16.7) | 15.6 (12.5, 19.7) | 18.1 (14.8, 22.3) | 21.3 (17.4, 26.0) | <0.001 |
| Whole grain (g/d)4 | 3.1 (2.1, 4.4) | 3.8 (2.7, 5.4) | 4.2 (3.0, 5.7) | 4.4 (3.2, 6.0) | 4.6 (3.4, 6.3) | <0.001 |
| Alcohol, current drinkers [n (%)] | 9139 (53.8) | 11,169 (65.1) | 12,706 (70.5) | 14,641 (76.3) | 15,538 (84.0) | <0.001 |
| Alcohol (servings/d)4 | 0.06 (0.0.00, 0.26) | 0.12 (0.03, 0.50) | 0.15 (0.06, 0.73) | 0.2 (0.06, 0.78) | 0.39 (0.12, 0.81) | <0.001 |
| Multivitamin use for >5 y [n (%)] | 1644 (9.7) | 2778 (16.2) | 3843 (21.3) | 5127 (26.7) | 7406 (40.0) | <0.001 |
1
Quintile 1 represents the least healthy quintile, whereas quintile 5 represents the healthiest quintile. GED, General Education Development; METs, metabolic equivalents.
2
Values derived from a linear (continuous variables) or logistic (categorical variable) regression model with the variable of interest as a function of AHEI quintiles.
3
Values are medians; interquartile ranges in parentheses.
4
Values are means; 95% CIs in parentheses.
5
Data available only from blood subsample (n = 1014).
6
Testing done on dichotomous variable of current smoking vs never/past smoking.
7
Testing done on dichotomous variable of college graduate vs nongraduate.