TABLE 1.
Participant characteristics by β-carotene assignment in the ATBC Study1
| No β-carotene(n = 100) | β-Carotene(n = 100) | P value | |
| Age (y) | 57.5 ± 4.82 | 57.9 ± 5.1 | 0.71 |
| Height (cm) | 175 ± 6.1 | 174 ± 6.4 | 0.78 |
| Weight (kg) | 78.8 ± 11.2 | 79.2 ± 12.1 | 0.69 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 25.9 ± 3.1 | 26.1 ± 3.6 | 0.65 |
| Smoking (cigarettes/d) | 20.3 ± 10.4 | 19.7 ± 8.4 | 0.92 |
| Smoking duration (y) | 35.0 ± 9.4 | 35.9 ± 9.6 | 0.46 |
| Quit smoking at follow-up visit (%) | 26.0 | 25.0 | 0.97 |
| Physically active (%) | 26.0 | 22.0 | 0.51 |
| > Elementary school education (%) | 29.0 | 23.0 | 0.33 |
| Dietary intake | |||
| Total energy (kcal/d) | 2770 ± 710 | 2768 ± 676 | 0.96 |
| Fruit (g/d) | 196 ± 147 | 264 ± 208 | 0.03 |
| Vegetables (g/d) | 323 ± 140 | 302 ± 102 | 0.58 |
| Red meat (g/d) | 78.4 ± 31.5 | 72.4 ± 28.9 | 0.23 |
| Coffee (g/d) | 652 ± 331 | 650 ± 351 | 0.75 |
| Tea (g/d) | 59.3 ± 114 | 61.6 ± 112 | 0.82 |
| Alcohol, ethanol (g/d) | 15.2 ± 18.6 | 13.1 ± 13.9 | 0.86 |
| Serum concentrations | |||
| Total cholesterol (mmol/L) | |||
| Baseline | 6.4 ± 1.1 | 6.4 ± 1.0 | 0.77 |
| Follow-up | 6.1 ± 1.1 | 6.3 ± 1.1 | 0.42 |
| α-Tocopherol (mg/L) | |||
| Baseline | 12.3 ± 3.0 | 12.3 ± 3.0 | 0.81 |
| Follow-up | 15.6 ± 4.5 | 15.7 ± 4.8 | 0.84 |
| β-Carotene (μg/L) | |||
| Baseline | 270 ± 249 | 242 ± 135 | 1.0 |
| Follow-up | 268 ± 222 | 3633 ± 1448 | <0.0001 |
| Retinol (μg/L) | |||
| Baseline | 587 ± 118 | 574 ± 111 | 0.35 |
| Follow-up | 595 ± 129 | 616 ± 128 | 0.34 |
1
All variables are from the baseline questionnaire unless otherwise indicated. ATBC, Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention.
2
Mean ± SD (all such values).