Table 4.
Eating frequency and multivariate relative risk (RR) of coronary heart disease (CHD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI).
| 1-2 times/day | 3 times/day | 4-5 times/day | 6+ times/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N cases | 150 | 728 | 611 | 38 |
| Person years | 39,868 | 183,947 | 155,731 | 8,408 |
| Age adjusted RR (95% CI) | 1.17 (0.97, 1.40) | 1.00 (Ref) | 1.08 (0.97, 1.20) | 1.30 (0.93, 1.82) |
| + Diet factors* | 1.13 (0.95, 1.36) | 1.00 (Ref) | 1.06 (0.95, 1.19) | 1.26 (0.90, 1.77) |
| + Demographic factors† | 1.10 (0.92, 1.32) | 1.00 (Ref) | 1.06 (0.95, 1.19) | 1.28 (0.91, 1.79) |
| + Activity factors‡ | 1.10 (0.92, 1.32) | 1.00 (Ref) | 1.05 (0.94, 1.18) | 1.26 (0.90, 1.77) |
| Adjustment for Potential Mediators | ||||
| + BMI§ | 1.09 (0.91, 1.31) | 1.00 (Ref) | 1.03 (0.92, 1.15) | 1.25 (0.89, 1.75) |
| + Health conditions∥ | 1.08 (0.90, 1.30) | 1.00 (Ref) | 1.01 (0.90, 1.13) | 1.15 (0.82, 1.61) |
| + BMI & health conditions | 1.08 (0.90, 1.29) | 1.00 (Ref) | 1.00 (0.89, 1.11) | 1.14 (0.81, 1.61) |
Diet factors: diet quality (quintiles of alternate Healthy Eating Index 2010 score), energy intake (quintiles of kcal/day), alcohol intake (0, 0.1-<5, 5-<15, 15-<30, 30+ g/day, missing).
Demographic factors: smoking (never, past, current), marital status (yes, no, missing), full-time work status (yes, no, missing), parental myocardial infarction <60 years of age (yes/no), physical exam in last two years (yes/no).
Activity factors: physical activity (quintiles MET hours/week), television (asked in categories 0-1.5, 2.0-6.0, 7.0-20.0, ≥21.0 hours/week, missing), sleep (<7, 7-8, >9 hours/24 hours, missing).
In addition to diet, demographic and activity factors, this model is further adjusted for BMI updated every 2 years (<18.5, 18.5-24.9, 25-29.9, 30+ kg/m2, missing).
In addition to diet, demographic and activity factors, this model is further adjusted for diabetes (yes/no), hypertension (yes/no) and hypercholesterolemia (yes/no), updated every 2 years.
Further adjustment for breakfast, late night eating, stress, antidepressant medication, daily number of cigarettes among smokers, bodyweight change and specific dietary components such as folate, whole grains, fiber or saturated fat did not substantially alter results.