TABLE 3.
Participant characteristics by quintiles of the 8-component Mediterranean 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 = 716) | Quintile 5 (n = 716) | ||
| 2407–11,224 | 11,229–13,315 | 13,318–15,240 | 15,242–17,451 | 17,456–26,947 | P | |
| DASH score | 11,146.5; 4535.02 | 12,921.5; 3814.2 | 14,099.0; 4039.2 | 15,483.0; 3959.8 | 17,653.5; 4096.8 | <0.001 |
| Baseline 3MS: 1995–1996 | 92.0; 8.0 | 93.0; 8.0 | 92.0; 8.0 | 93.0; 7.0 | 93.0; 7.0 | <0.001 |
| Age (y) | 73.8; 10.2 | 74.1; 10.2 | 74.4; 10.0 | 74.0; 9.7 | 74.2; 9.7 | 0.895 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 25.7; 5.7 | 25.8; 5.8 | 25.8; 5.7 | 25.8; 5.4 | 25.4; 5.5 | 0.060 |
| M (%) | 54.4 | 47.6 | 40.6 | 37.0 | 34.8 | <0.001 |
| More than a high school education (%) | 43.1 | 47.8 | 48.1 | 48.7 | 59.2 | <0.001 |
| Daily moderate exercise (%) | 31.2 | 37.4 | 39.5 | 39.1 | 45.7 | <0.001 |
| MVM use (yes) (%) | 36.6 | 39.0 | 41.5 | 45.6 | 50.3 | <0.001 |
| Ever smoke (%)3 | 25.6 | 21.0 | 18.3 | 15.9 | 13.6 | <0.001 |
| Ever drank (%)3 | 21.4 | 17.3 | 14.8 | 13.6 | 13.3 | <0.001 |
| At least one copy of the APOE e4 allele (%) | 32.0 | 27.8 | 35.2 | 30.4 | 30.8 | 0.854 |
| Dietary intake (/d) | ||||||
| Energy (kcal) | 2043.2; 1063.3 | 1775.7; 973.5 | 1771.3; 981.1 | 1694.0; 841.3 | 1912.3; 859.0 | <0.001 |
| Fat (percentage of total energy) | 35.4; 5.7 | 32.5; 5.6 | 3.7; 5.5 | 29.6; 5.4 | 26.7; 5.6 | <0.001 |
| Carbohydrate (percentage of total energy) | 48.9; 6.8 | 51.9; 7.1 | 53.7; 6.9 | 55.3; 6.5 | 58.8; 7.1 | <0.001 |
| Protein (percentage of total energy) | 17.4; 3.5 | 17.6; 3.7 | 17.8; 3.6 | 17.5; 3.2 | 17.4; 3.3 | 0.114 |
| Saturated fat (g)4 | 28.2; 7.5 | 25.1; 4.7 | 23.5; 4.8 | 21.9; 4.3 | 18.5; 5.6 | <0.001 |
| Omega-3 fatty acids (g)4 | 1.1; 0.4 | 1.1; 0.3 | 1.1; 0.3 | 1.2; 0.3 | 1.2; 0.4 | <0.001 |
| Omega-6 fatty acids (g)4 | 10.5; 3.6 | 10.6; 3.1 | 10.5; 3.0 | 10.8; 3.2 | 9.9; 3.4 | <0.001 |
| Ratio of MUFAs to SFAs | 1.0; 0.2 | 1.0; 0.2 | 1.1; 0.2 | 1.1; 0.2 | 1.2; 0.2 | <0.001 |
| Cholesterol (mg)4 | 307.0; 165.3 | 282.4; 136.6 | 273.0; 133.0 | 254.8; 124.5 | 225.1; 126.6 | <0.001 |
| Fiber (g)4 | 13.8; 5.5 | 16.6; 4.7 | 18.4; 5.8 | 20.0; 5.8 | 24.1; 8.6 | <0.001 |
| Vitamin C (mg)4 | 87.6; 58.4 | 113.9; 63.4 | 132.6; 70.9 | 143.6; 73.8 | 179.2; 89.3 | <0.001 |
| Vitamin E (mg)4 | 6.8; 1.9 | 7.3; 1.7 | 7.5; 1.6 | 7.9; 1.5 | 8.3; 2.0 | <0.001 |
| Folate (μg)4 | 246.0; 105.9 | 279.0; 97.3 | 297.2; 95.8 | 317.6; 100.8 | 365.2; 134.3 | <0.001 |
| Vitamin B-6 (mg)4 | 1.8; 0.7 | 2.0; 0.6 | 2.1; 0.7 | 2.2; 0.7 | 2.4; 0.7 | <0.001 |
| Vitamin B-12 (μg)4 | 5.5; 2.9 | 5.5; 2.7 | 5.4; 2.6 | 5.3; 2.5 | 4.9; 2.5 | <0.001 |
| Sodium (mg)4 | 2555.4; 712.9 | 2574.1; 583.8 | 2611.9; 506.5 | 2625.6; 500.0 | 2623.5; 577.3 | 0.011 |
| Calcium (mg)4 | 926.3; 557.1 | 849.3; 528.7 | 863.9; 480.4 | 875.4; 509.8 | 896.9; 491.7 | 0.057 |
| Potassium (mg)4 | 2809.8; 816.7 | 3081.4; 787.5 | 3222.3; 791.9 | 3334.5; 766.1 | 3723.3; 982.9 | <0.001 |
| Magnesium (mg)4 | 272.6; 68.5 | 289.8; 58.9 | 302.7; 63.7 | 315.3; 64.0 | 349.4; 77.4 | <0.001 |
| Zinc (mg)4 | 11.2; 3.4 | 11.1; 2.8 | 11.0; 2.7 | 10.9; 2.6 | 10.7; 3.0 | 0.033 |
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.