Table 2.

Age and age-adjusted characteristics of WACS Cognitive Cohort by tertile of Mediterranean diet score (n=2504)

	Mediterranean diet score
	Low [0–3]	Middle [4–5]	High [6–9]	p-value*
Age at initial cognitive assessment (y): Mean+/−SD (range)	71.9+/−3.9 (66.1–91.2)	72.5+/−4.3 (66.1–90.5)	72.6+/−4.0 (66.1–90.1)	0.002
Cognitive score at initial cognitive assessment: Mean (SD)
Global cognitive score† (standard unit)	0.005 (0.6)	−0.026 (0.7)	0.025 (0.7)	0.34
TICS (point)	34.4 (3.0)	34.3 (3.3)	34.6 (3.2)	0.14
Verbal memory† (standard unit)	0.002 (0.7)	−0.022 (0.7)	0.039 (0.7)	0.44
Category fluency (point)	16.5 (4.8)	16.4 (4.9)	16.7 (4.9)	0.56
Health and lifestyle characteristics: Mean or %
Master’s or a doctoral degree (%)	8%	10%	15%	<0.001
Married (%)	58%	61%	64%	0.09
Physical activity‡ (mean kcal/wk)	707	949	1138	<0.001
Use of multivitamin supplements (%)	29%	28%	32%	0.33
Current smoker (%)	13%	10%	5%	<0.001
Body Mass Index (mean kg/m2)	29.1	28.8	27.6	<0.001
History of depression (%)	16%	16%	12%	0.04
History of myocardial Infarction (%)	20%	22%	21%	0.52
History of stroke (%)	8%	8%	9%	0.69
History of revascularization surgery (%)	20%	20%	24%	0.18
History of angina (%)	43%	46%	47%	0.23
History of transient ischemic attack (%)	15%	15%	14%	0.94
History of diabetes (%)	17%	18%	16%	0.54
History of hypertension (%)	78%	78%	75%	0.35
History of hyperlipidemia (%)	72%	76%	79%	0.005

SD: standard deviation; TICS: Telephone Interview of Cognitive Status

^*From chi-squared tests or analysis of variance depending on the type of variable (categorical or continuous)

^†Global cognitive score is a composite score of the z-scores of the TICS, immediate and delayed recalls of the East Boston Memory Test, category fluency, and delayed recall of the TICS 10-word list; Verbal memory score is a composite score of the z-scores of the immediate and delayed recalls of both the TICS 10-word and the East Boston Memory Test

^‡Weekly calories expended from exercise and climbing the stairs