Table 1. Baseline age-standardized characteristics of participants in the two cohorts according to quintiles of total red meat consumption.
| Characteristics | Total red meat intake quintile, servings/d | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q5 | |
| HPFS | |||||
|
| |||||
| n | 7431 | 7813 | 7308 | 7606 | 7540 |
| Age (year) | 53.8 | 52.6 | 52.5 | 52.5 | 52.2 |
| Total red meat intake (serving/d) | 0.22 | 0.62 | 1.01 | 1.47 | 2.36 |
| Physical activity (MET-h/wk) | 27.5 | 22.7 | 20.2 | 18.8 | 17.2 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 24.7 | 25.3 | 25.5 | 25.7 | 26.0 |
| Race, white (%) | 93.1 | 95.1 | 95.2 | 95.8 | 95.8 |
| Current smoker (%) | 5.0 | 7.3 | 9.8 | 11.3 | 14.5 |
| Diabetes (%) | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 3.5 |
| Hypertension (%) | 19.5 | 19.7 | 19.3 | 19.6 | 20.2 |
| High cholesterol (%) | 14.8 | 11.1 | 9.7 | 9.0 | 7.9 |
| Family history of diabetes (%) | 19.5 | 18.6 | 19.1 | 20.0 | 19.3 |
| Family history of myocardial infarction (%) | 35.1 | 31.8 | 30.9 | 31.4 | 30.0 |
| Family history of cancer (%) | 33.7 | 34.5 | 35.0 | 33.9 | 33.6 |
| Current multivitamin use (%) | 49.1 | 42.5 | 40.3 | 39.5 | 36.6 |
| Current aspirin use (%) | 24.6 | 26.4 | 25.9 | 27.8 | 27.4 |
| Dietary intake | |||||
| Total energy (kcal/d) | 1659 | 1752 | 1886 | 2091 | 2396 |
| Alcohol (g/day) | 8.4 | 10.7 | 11.2 | 12.4 | 13.4 |
| Fruit, serving/d | 2.83 | 2.35 | 2.21 | 2.13 | 2.04 |
| Vegetables, serving/d | 3.29 | 2.89 | 2.91 | 2.97 | 3.07 |
| Whole grain, serving/d | 1.93 | 1.58 | 1.50 | 1.51 | 1.48 |
| Nuts, serving/d | 0.45 | 0.45 | 0.44 | 0.47 | 0.49 |
| Legume, serving/d | 0.45 | 0.38 | 0.39 | 0.43 | 0.47 |
| Dairy products, serving/d | 1.65 | 1.80 | 1.89 | 2.02 | 2.14 |
| Fish, serving/d | 0.55 | 0.43 | 0.38 | 0.36 | 0.32 |
| Poultry, serving/d | 0.64 | 0.58 | 0.55 | 0.55 | 0.53 |
|
| |||||
| NHS | |||||
|
| |||||
| n | 16499 | 17247 | 16461 | 16603 | 16834 |
| Age (year) | 47.3 | 46.0 | 45.8 | 45.3 | 46.0 |
| Total red meat intake (serving/d) | 0.53 | 1.04 | 1.52 | 2.01 | 3.10 |
| Physical activity (MET-h/wk) | 16.9 | 13.9 | 13.8 | 13.3 | 12.4 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 23.9 | 24.3 | 24.4 | 24.5 | 24.7 |
| Race, white (%) | 96.9 | 97.9 | 97.8 | 98.0 | 97.2 |
| Current smoker (%) | 25.5 | 29.1 | 28.2 | 29.7 | 31.6 |
| Diabetes (%) | 1.6 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.9 |
| Hypertension (%) | 15.2 | 15.7 | 15.5 | 15.4 | 16.4 |
| High cholesterol (%) | 6.0 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 4.5 | 4.7 |
| Family history of diabetes (%) | 26.7 | 27.9 | 28.1 | 29.0 | 29.9 |
| Family history of myocardial infarction (%) | 19.4 | 19.0 | 19.0 | 18.6 | 19.0 |
| Family history of cancer (%) | 17.1 | 16.7 | 16.1 | 16.6 | 16.3 |
| Postmenopausal (%) | 31.3 | 31.3 | 30.8 | 31.1 | 31.1 |
| Current menopausal hormone use (%)a | 20.6 | 20.4 | 21.0 | 21.3 | 20.7 |
| Current multivitamin use (%) | 37.9 | 33.6 | 33.1 | 32.8 | 32.3 |
| Current aspirin use (%) | 43.2 | 46.9 | 46.3 | 48.3 | 49.1 |
| Dietary intake | |||||
| Total energy (kcal/day) | 1202 | 1371 | 1523 | 1705 | 2030 |
| Alcohol (g/d) | 5.8 | 6.3 | 6.6 | 6.5 | 6.6 |
| Fruit, serving/d | 2.21 | 2.05 | 2.04 | 2.03 | 2.02 |
| Vegetables, serving/d | 1.89 | 1.83 | 1.92 | 1.98 | 2.08 |
| Whole grain, grams/d | 1.53 | 1.37 | 1.35 | 1.36 | 1.28 |
| Nuts, serving/d | 0.16 | 0.13 | 0.13 | 0.14 | 0.15 |
| Legume, serving/d | 0.44 | 0.44 | 0.45 | 0.49 | 0.52 |
| Dairy products, serving/d | 1.81 | 1.80 | 1.82 | 1.87 | 1.83 |
| Fish, serving/d | 0.50 | 0.40 | 0.39 | 0.35 | 0.33 |
| Poultry, serving/d | 0.64 | 0.59 | 0.59 | 0.58 | 0.58 |
Abbreviation: HPFS, Health Professionals Follow-up Study; MET-h, hours of metabolic equivalent tasks; NHS, Nurses' Health Study.
a
Current menopausal hormone use among postmenopausal women.