TABLE 2.
Participant characteristics by quintiles of the 8-component DASH diet score in the Cache County Study on Memory, Health and Aging1
| Quintile 1 (n = 716) | Quintile 2 (n = 716) | Quintile 3 (n = 716) | Quintile 4 (n = 714) | Quintile 5 (n = 718) | ||
| 1661–11,236 | 11,248–13,362 | 13,371–15,329 | 15,330–17,416 | 17,418–26,596 | P | |
| Mediterranean score | 11,164.5; 4204.82 | 13,079.5; 3454.5 | 14,282.5; 4030.2 | 15,458.0; 4193.2 | 17,683.0; 4336.0 | <0.001 |
| Baseline 3MS: 1995–1996 | 92.0; 7.0 | 92.0; 6.4 | 93.0; 5.8 | 93.0; 6.1 | 94.0; 6.1 | <0.001 |
| Age (y) | 73.8; 9.6 | 73.5; 9.9 | 74.3; 9.9 | 74.0; 10.4 | 74.8; 9.8 | 0.475 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 25.8; 5.5 | 25.9; 5.9 | 26.4; 5.7 | 25.7; 5.7 | 25.0; 5.2 | <0.001 |
| M (%) | 54.9 | 44.6 | 40.4 | 36.6 | 38 | <0.001 |
| More than high school education (%) | 39.9 | 45.8 | 46.8 | 53.5 | 60.9 | <0.001 |
| Daily moderate exercise (%) | 32.8 | 35.6 | 38.8 | 39.9 | 45.7 | <0.001 |
| MVM use (yes) (%) | 33.1 | 39.9 | 43.4 | 46.5 | 50.1 | <0.001 |
| Ever smoke (%)3 | 28.5 | 19.7 | 19.1 | 16.1 | 11.0 | <0.001 |
| Ever drank (%)3 | 23.1 | 14.3 | 15.7 | 14.8 | 13.0 | <0.001 |
| At least one APOE e4 allele (%) | 32.0 | 32.0 | 30.0 | 30.0 | 32.0 | 0.586 |
| Dietary intake (/d) | ||||||
| Energy (kcal) | 2031.1; 1038.8 | 1680.8; 957.9 | 1736.3; 991.2 | 1734.5; 886.2 | 1952.8; 823.5 | <0.001 |
| Fat (percentage of energy) | 35.6; 5.2 | 32.6; 5.4 | 31.0; 5.5 | 29.0; 5.5 | 26.8; 5.9 | <0.001 |
| Carbohydrate (percentage of energy) | 48.6; 6.9 | 51.9; 6.7 | 53.4; 6.7 | 56.2; 6.8 | 58.6; 6.8 | <0.001 |
| Protein (percentage of energy) | 17.3; 3.2 | 17.4; 3.7 | 17.9; 3.6 | 17.6; 3.4 | 17.6; 3.3 | 0.039 |
| Saturated fat (g)4 | 29.2; 6.3 | 25.1; 5.0 | 23.2; 5.1 | 21.6; 5.2 | 17.9; 5.9 | <0.001 |
| Ratio of MUFAs to SFAs | 1.1; 0.2 | 1.1; 0.2 | 1.1; 0.2 | 1.1; 0.2 | 1.1; 0.2 | <0.001 |
| Omega-3 fatty acids (g)4 | 1.2; 0.4 | 1.2; 0.3 | 1.1; 0.3 | 1.1; 0.3 | 1.1; 0.4 | <0.001 |
| Omega-6 fatty acids (g)4 | 11.3; 3.6 | 10.9; 2.8 | 10.4; 2.9 | 10.0; 3.0 | 9.4; 3.3 | <0.001 |
| Cholesterol (mg)4 | 320.7; 164.9 | 285.8; 134.5 | 269.4; 125.4 | 246.9; 113.5 | 218.0; 131.2 | <0.001 |
| Fiber (g)4 | 13.9; 5.1 | 16.7; 4.9 | 18.4; 5.1 | 20.3; 6.0 | 24.2; 8.2 | <0.001 |
| Vitamin C (mg)4 | 89.5; 56.9 | 113.1; 64.2 | 132.3; 65.6 | 147.7; 79.7 | 175.3; 87.2 | <0.001 |
| Vitamin E (mg)4 | 7.2; 1.9 | 7.5; 1.8 | 7.5; 1.7 | 7.7; 1.9 | 8.0; 2.0 | <0.001 |
| Folate (μg)4 | 243.1; 103.7 | 277.2; 93.0 | 300.0; 93.1 | 322.9; 122.5 | 358.5; 128.4 | <0.001 |
| Vitamin B-6 (mg)4 | 1.9; 0.6 | 2.0; 0.6 | 2.1; 0.6 | 2.2; 0.7 | 2.4; 0.7 | <0.001 |
| Vitamin B-12 (μg)4 | 5.3; 3.1 | 5.3; 2.5 | 5.4; 2.7 | 5.4; 2.5 | 5.1; 2.8 | 0.005 |
| Sodium (mg)4 | 2782.7; 632.7 | 2657.2; 558.4 | 2585.6; 488.8 | 2573.7; 534.7 | 2443.4; 520.1 | <0.001 |
| Calcium (mg)4 | 712.1; 354.2 | 793.9; 356.4 | 870.8; 438.5 | 1009.1; 498.9 | 1155.4; 485.3 | <0.001 |
| Potassium (mg)4 | 2676.2; 666.4 | 3006.3; 605.1 | 3227.5; 674.1 | 3503.7; 707.2 | 3884.1; 828.0 | <0.001 |
| Magnesium (mg)4 | 253.8; 53.5 | 283.6; 43.8 | 305.4; 49.8 | 327.5; 55.9 | 361.8; 65.2 | <0.001 |
| Zinc (mg)4 | 10.9; 3.1 | 10.9; 2.7 | 11.1; 2.8 | 11.1; 3.1 | 11.0; 2.8 | 0.111 |
1
P values were obtained by using the Kruskal-Wallis test for continuous variables and chi-square test for categorical variables. DASH, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension; MVM, multivitamin-mineral supplement; 3MS, Modified Mini-Mental State Examination.
2
Median; interquartile range (all such values).
3
An ever smoker was defined as a subject who reported ever regularly smoking; an ever drinker was defined as a subject who reported ever regularly drinking alcohol.
4
Energy-adjusted nutrient intakes per day.