TABLE 2.
Cross-sectional associations between baseline characteristics and tertiles of Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) score
| AHEI tertiles |
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| Baseline characteristics | Low (n = 2458) | Intermediate (n = 2477) | High (n = 2384) | P value1 |
| AHEI score | 36.6 ± 6.32 | 50.6 ± 3.1 | 63.3 ± 5.3 | |
| Age (y) | 49.4 ± 6.0 | 49.4 ± 6.1 | 49.8 ± 6.0 | 0.08 |
| Female sex (%) | 24.2 | 28.9 | 38.1 | <0.001 |
| Living alone (%) | 75.4 | 78.7 | 77.1 | 0.02 |
| White (%) | 94.5 | 91.9 | 88.7 | <0.001 |
| High-grade occupational position (%) | 33.2 | 41.8 | 42.0 | <0.001 |
| Current smoker (%) | 20.4 | 13.9 | 9.3 | <0.001 |
| Total energy intake (kcal/d) | 1922 ± 583 | 2137 ± 628.4 | 2236 ± 622 | <0.001 |
| Low physical activity (%) | 14.7 | 12.1 | 12.0 | 0.01 |
| Overweight (%)3 | 38.5 | 37.5 | 36.3 | 0.59 |
| Obese (%)4 | 9.5 | 8.8 | 9.0 | |
| C-reactive protein in highest tertile (%)5 | 38.1 | 32.4 | 29.4 | <0.001 |
| Interleukin-6 in highest tertile (%)5 | 38.0 | 31.9 | 29.7 | <0.001 |
| Metabolic syndrome (%) | 11.3 | 9.0 | 9.3 | 0.02 |
| History of cardiovascular disease (%) | 2.4 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 0.10 |
| Dyslipidemia (%) | 62.0 | 59.0 | 56.1 | <0.001 |
| Hypertension (%) | 19.1 | 17.8 | 19.1 | 0.37 |
| Type 2 diabetes (%) | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.49 |
| AHEI component scores (points) | ||||
| Vegetables | 3.7 ± 2.4 | 5.6 ± 2.6 | 7.4 ± 2.4 | <0.001 |
| Fruit | 3.7 ± 2.5 | 6.1 ± 2.7 | 8.1 ± 2.2 | <0.001 |
| Nuts and soy | 1.9 ± 2.5 | 3.0 ± 2.9 | 4.6 ± 3.1 | <0.001 |
| Ratio of white to red meat | 3.6 ± 2.4 | 5.1 ± 2.6 | 6.6 ± 2.5 | <0.001 |
| Total fiber | 5.5 ± 3.2 | 8.1 ± 2.6 | 9.3 ± 1.6 | <0.001 |
| trans Fat | 7.6 ± 3.1 | 8.4 ± 2.7 | 9.3 ± 1.9 | <0.001 |
| Ratio of PUFAs to SFAs | 3.8 ± 2.4 | 5.3 ± 2.6 | 6.7 ± 2.4 | <0.001 |
| Duration of multivitamin use | 3.4 ± 1.9 | 4.1 ± 2.4 | 5.1 ± 2.5 | <0.001 |
| Alcohol | 3.2 ± 3.3 | 4.7 ± 3.6 | 6.2 ± 3.6 | <0.001 |
1
Chi-square test and Fisher's F statistic (for age and total energy intake) were applied to compare characteristics of 7319 participants as a function of tertiles of AHEI score. PUFAs, polyunsaturated fatty acids; SFAs, saturated fatty acids.
2
Mean ± SD (all such values).
3
BMI (in kg/m2) ≥25 and <30.
4
BMI ≥30.
5
The number of subjects with missing values for C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 were 355 and 402, respectively.