Table 2. Characteristics of study participants by categories of dietary fibre intake.
| Quintile of dietary fibre intake | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q5 | |||||
| Fibre range (energy adjusted; g/day) | <17.9 | 17.9–<21.0 | 21.0–<23.6 | 23.6–<27.5 | ≥27.5 | |||||
| Fibre range (actual; g/day) | <16.4 | 16.4–<20.1 | 20.1–<23.6 | 23.6–<28.5 | ≥28.5 | |||||
| Men | ||||||||||
| N | 21,675 | 22,590 | 25,834 | 31,664 | 40,487 | |||||
| Colorectal cancer cases | 328 | 296 | 392 | 400 | 488 | |||||
| Age at recruitment (years) § | 51.8 | 10.1 | 51.8 | 10.0 | 52.1 | 10.0 | 52.5 | 10.1 | 52.5 | 10.3 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) § | 26.4 | 3.7 | 26.6 | 3.6 | 26.6 | 3.6 | 26.7 | 3.6 | 26.3 | 3.7 |
| Education | ||||||||||
| Longer education inclu. uni. (%) | 21.2 | 23.9 | 25.7 | 26.8 | 31.1 | |||||
| Smoking status | ||||||||||
| Never (%) | 25.8 | 30.0 | 31.7 | 33.5 | 39.0 | |||||
| Current (%) | 40.9 | 33.8 | 30.7 | 27.5 | 21.4 | |||||
| Physical activity | ||||||||||
| Active (%) | 21.4 | 22.4 | 23.5 | 24.1 | 27.3 | |||||
| Total energy intake (kcal/day) § | 2,366 | 681 | 2,423 | 665 | 2,443 | 668 | 2,434 | 654 | 2,386 | 651 |
| Red and processed meat intake (g/day) § | 116.2 | 59.6 | 108.9 | 54.5 | 103.3 | 53.1 | 96.7 | 52.1 | 81.3 | 55.1 |
| Calcium intake (mg/day) § | 1037 | 384 | 1029 | 342 | 1034 | 330 | 1,043 | 329 | 1,084 | 340 |
| Folate intake (µg/day) § | 249.1 | 66.3 | 278.8 | 64.7 | 301.2 | 68.6 | 326.8 | 75.1 | 394.4 | 125 |
| Alcohol intake (g/day) § | 30.8 | 32.6 | 24.2 | 24.7 | 20.9 | 21.6 | 18 | 19.2 | 13.9 | 15.7 |
| Women | ||||||||||
| N | 73,788 | 72,873 | 69,628 | 63,798 | 54,975 | |||||
| Colorectal cancer cases | 583 | 543 | 559 | 502 | 426 | |||||
| Age at recruitment (years) § | 50.2 | 9.7 | 50.7 | 9.6 | 51.1 | 9.5 | 51.3 | 9.6 | 50.8 | 10.8 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) § | 24.7 | 4.4 | 25 | 4.5 | 25.1 | 4.5 | 25.1 | 4.4 | 24.9 | 4.4 |
| Education | ||||||||||
| Longer education inclu. uni. (%) | 22.0 | 22.1 | 21.9 | 22.3 | 25.4 | |||||
| Smoking status | ||||||||||
| Never (%) | 49.8 | 55.7 | 57.1 | 57.7 | 59.3 | |||||
| Current (%) | 27.8 | 20.8 | 17.9 | 16.1 | 12.6 | |||||
| Physical activity | ||||||||||
| Active (%) | 11.6 | 12.0 | 13.2 | 15.1 | 19.3 | |||||
| Ever use of contraceptive pill | ||||||||||
| Yes % | 58.9 | 56.8 | 56.5 | 56.7 | 57.2 | |||||
| Ever use of menopausal hormone therapy | ||||||||||
| Yes (%) | 22.5 | 23.3 | 24.7 | 25.9 | 25.5 | |||||
| Menopausal status | ||||||||||
| Postmenopausal (%) | 39.9 | 41.2 | 44.2 | 45.9 | 46.2 | |||||
| Total energy intake (kcal/day) § | 1920 | 561 | 1961 | 549 | 1950 | 538 | 1926 | 522 | 1890 | 520 |
| Red and processed meat intake (g/day) § | 78.4 | 41.2 | 71.4 | 37.5 | 67.1 | 37.1 | 61.5 | 37.5 | 46.5 | 38.2 |
| Calcium intake (mg/day) § | 979 | 342 | 956 | 296 | 960 | 295 | 978 | 301 | 1023 | 310 |
| Folate intake (µg/day) § | 244.3 | 66.3 | 278 | 67.9 | 301 | 75.8 | 329 | 87.8 | 406 | 138 |
| Alcohol intake (g/day) § | 11.6 | 15.8 | 8.4 | 11.5 | 7.0 | 9.9 | 6.2 | 8.8 | 5.3 | 7.8 |
§
Mean and standard deviation.
*
Food and nutrient intakes were sourced from dietary questionnaires and are adjusted for total energy unless stated otherwise.