Table 1. Sample characteristics according to the Mediterranean diet score.
| Variable | Mediterranean Diet Score | Trend P value* | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||
| 0-3 (n = 78) | 4 (n = 58) | 5 (n = 65) | 6-9 (n = 75) | ||
| Age, y | 54 (51,56) | 55 (53,57) | 55 (52,56) | 55 (53,57) | 0.71 |
| Education, y | 13 (12,15) | 14 (13,16) | 15 (12,16) | 15 (13,16) | <0.0001 |
| Married, n (%) | 62 (80) | 45 (76) | 51 (78) | 64 (85) | 0.56 |
| Smoking | 0.008 | ||||
| Current smoker, n (%) | 20 (26) | 10 (17) | 9 (14) | 9 (12) | |
| Former smoker, n (%) | 36 (46) | 25 (43) | 27 (42) | 34 (45) | |
| Never, n (%) | 22 (28) | 23 (40) | 29 (45) | 32 (43) | |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 30.0 (26.3, 32.6) | 29.6 (26.3, 33.6) | 28.6 (26.6, 32.1) | 28.0 (26.6, 29.6) | 0.17 |
| Waist to hip ratio | 0.95 (0.92, 0.98) | 0.96 (0.92, 0.99) | 0.93 (0.90, 0.99) | 0.93 (0.90, 0.97) | 0.41 |
| Physical activity, unit | 7.20 (6.11, 8.20) | 7.27 (6.59, 8.63) | 7.40 (6.88, 8.30) | 7.52 (6.50, 8.21) | 0.24 |
| Total caloric intake, kcal | 1552 (1256, 2059) | 1453 (1056, 1793) | 1417 (1048, 1803) | 1369 (1082, 1641) | 0.07 |
| Clinical and biochemical features | |||||
| Depressive symptoms (BDI score), unit | 4 (1,9) | 2 (1,6) | 2 (0,6) | 2 (0,6) | 0.02 |
| Plasma glucose concentration, mmol/L | 5.44 (5.11, 5.83) | 5.49 (5.11, 6.16) | 5.38 (5.00, 5.66) | 5.44 (5.11, 5.83) | 0.35 |
| Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg | 132 (120, 142) | 125 (116, 138) | 126 (117, 138) | 128 (122, 139) | 0.88 |
| Diastolic blood pressure, mm Hg | 81 (73, 87) | 80 (73, 85) | 78 (70, 88) | 82 (77, 89) | 0.04 |
| Total triacylglycerols concentration, mmol/L | 1.98 (1.40, 2.79) | 1.60 (1.16, 2.26) | 1.74 (1.22, 2.44) | 1.84 (1.18, 2.60) | 0.92 |
| Total Cholesterol concentration, mmol/L | 4.79 (4.22, 5.44) | 4.71 (4.14, 5.44) | 4.71 (4.25, 5.54) | 4.97 (4.22, 5.39) | 0.47 |
| HDL-Cholesterol concentration, mmol/L | 0.96 (0.80, 1.14) | 1.01 (0.80, 1.24) | 1.01 (0.91, 1.17) | 0.91 (0.83, 1.09) | 0.83 |
| LDL-Cholesterol concentration, mmol/L | 3.24 (2.64, 3.76) | 3.13 (2.59, 3.57) | 3.13 (2.51, 3.76) | 3.16 (2.77, 3.86) | 0.55 |
| Take fish oil supplement, n (%) | 1 (1.3) | 1 (1.7) | 5 (7.7) | 8 (11.7) | 0.02 |
| Take β-blockers, n (%) | 7 (9) | 5 (9) | 2 (3) | 5 (7) | 0.46 |
| Take statins, n (%) | 21 (27) | 12 (21) | 16 (25) | 19 (25) | 0.83 |
| Take aspirin, n (%) | 14 (18) | 14 (24) | 16 (25) | 17 (23) | 0.51 |
| Take antihypertensives, n (%) | 16 (21) | 13 (22) | 14 (22) | 16 (21) | 0.96 |
| Take antihyperglycemics, n (%) | 5 (6.4) | 8 (13.8) | 6 (9.2) | 6 (8.0) | 0.83 |
Medians (25th, 75th percentile) for continuous variables and n (%) for categorical variables.
*
Test for trend across diet score groups. All P values are corrected for clustering within a twin pair according to the twin type using linear mixed models for continuous variables, and generalized estimating equation logistic models for dichotomous variables, and repeated proportional odds model with generalized estimating equation for the 3-level smoking variable. Medians presented are raw values.