Table 1.
Characteristics of Multivitamin Supplement Users and Non-Users in the Women’s Health Initiative (CT+OS, n=161806)
| Combination (N=1091) | Stress Multi-Vitamins. (N=3741) | Multi-Vitamin w/minerals (N=56296) | Multi-Vitamin (N=5667) | None (N=95011) | P-Value* | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % | ||
| Age group at screening, years | <0.001 | ||||||||||
| 50–59 | 421 | 38.6 | 1414 | 37.8 | 16895 | 30.0 | 1667 | 29.4 | 33160 | 34.9 | |
| 60–69 | 460 | 42.2 | 1631 | 43.6 | 26080 | 46.3 | 2527 | 44.6 | 41887 | 44.1 | |
| 70–79 | 210 | 19.2 | 696 | 18.6 | 13321 | 23.7 | 1473 | 26.0 | 19964 | 21.0 | |
|
| |||||||||||
| Years since menopause | <0.001 | ||||||||||
| < 5 yrs | 158 | 15.1 | 572 | 15.9 | 6616 | 12.3 | 672 | 12.5 | 12489 | 14.1 | |
| 5 – <10 yrs | 210 | 20.1 | 709 | 19.7 | 9342 | 17.3 | 919 | 17.1 | 16224 | 18.3 | |
| 10 – <15 yrs | 192 | 18.4 | 745 | 20.7 | 10795 | 20.0 | 997 | 18.6 | 17284 | 19.5 | |
| >= 15 yrs | 483 | 46.3 | 1567 | 43.6 | 27167 | 50.4 | 2783 | 51.8 | 42422 | 48.0 | |
|
| |||||||||||
| Ethnicity | <0.001 | ||||||||||
| White | 953 | 87.4 | 3093 | 82.7 | 49165 | 87.3 | 5048 | 89.1 | 75273 | 79.2 | |
| Black | 64 | 5.9 | 180 | 4.8 | 3253 | 5.8 | 322 | 5.7 | 10807 | 11.4 | |
| Hispanic | 20 | 1.8 | 88 | 2.4 | 1620 | 2.9 | 107 | 1.9 | 4677 | 4.9 | |
| American Indian | 5 | 0.5 | 7 | 0.2 | 194 | 0.3 | 10 | 0.2 | 499 | 0.5 | |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 35 | 3.2 | 297 | 7.9 | 1364 | 2.4 | 113 | 2.0 | 2383 | 2.5 | |
| Unknown | 14 | 1.3 | 76 | 2.0 | 700 | 1.2 | 67 | 1.2 | 1372 | 1.4 | |
|
| |||||||||||
| Body mass index (BMI), kg/m2 (collapsed categories) | <0.001 | ||||||||||
| <25 (normal) | 457 | 42.4 | 1579 | 42.7 | 21251 | 38.1 | 2315 | 41.3 | 30729 | 32.6 | |
| 25 – <30 (overweight) | 348 | 32.3 | 1228 | 33.2 | 19535 | 35.0 | 1949 | 34.8 | 32606 | 34.6 | |
| >=30 (obese) | 273 | 25.3 | 892 | 24.1 | 15020 | 26.9 | 1344 | 24.0 | 30835 | 32.7 | |
|
| |||||||||||
| Education | <0.001 | ||||||||||
| High school or less | 175 | 16.1 | 605 | 16.3 | 11172 | 20.0 | 1117 | 19.8 | 23192 | 24.6 | |
| School after high school | 451 | 41.6 | 1433 | 38.6 | 21136 | 37.8 | 1999 | 35.5 | 35883 | 38.1 | |
| College degree or higher | 458 | 42.3 | 1676 | 45.1 | 23616 | 42.2 | 2512 | 44.6 | 35146 | 37.3 | |
|
| |||||||||||
| Alcohol | <0.001 | ||||||||||
| Non drinker | 110 | 10.2 | 372 | 10.0 | 5169 | 9.2 | 507 | 9.0 | 11494 | 12.2 | |
| Past drinker | 202 | 18.7 | 718 | 19.3 | 10020 | 17.9 | 986 | 17.5 | 18221 | 19.3 | |
| <1/wk | 353 | 32.7 | 1209 | 32.5 | 18672 | 33.4 | 1843 | 32.6 | 30830 | 32.7 | |
| 1–7/wk | 311 | 28.8 | 975 | 26.2 | 15183 | 27.1 | 1552 | 27.5 | 23179 | 24.6 | |
| >7/wk | 104 | 9.6 | 446 | 12.0 | 6906 | 12.3 | 759 | 13.4 | 10541 | 11.2 | |
|
| |||||||||||
| Smoking | <0.001 | ||||||||||
| Never smoked | 527 | 49.1 | 1808 | 48.9 | 28234 | 50.8 | 2931 | 52.3 | 47931 | 51.2 | |
| Past smoker | 486 | 45.3 | 1675 | 45.3 | 24205 | 43.5 | 2357 | 42.1 | 38386 | 41.0 | |
| Current smoker | 60 | 5.6 | 217 | 5.9 | 3173 | 5.7 | 314 | 5.6 | 7379 | 7.9 | |
|
| |||||||||||
| General health | <0.001 | ||||||||||
| Excellent | 205 | 18.8 | 732 | 19.7 | 9754 | 17.4 | 966 | 17.1 | 15730 | 16.7 | |
| Very Good | 463 | 42.6 | 1600 | 43.1 | 23938 | 42.7 | 2418 | 42.9 | 37216 | 39.5 | |
| Good | 340 | 31.3 | 1126 | 30.4 | 18036 | 32.2 | 1803 | 32.0 | 31736 | 33.6 | |
| Fair/Poor | 80 | 7.4 | 252 | 6.8 | 4280 | 7.6 | 446 | 7.9 | 9636 | 10.2 | |
|
| |||||||||||
| Prior bilateral oophorectomy | 214 | 20.2 | 744 | 20.2 | 11372 | 20.6 | 1081 | 19.4 | 18145 | 19.6 | <0.001 |
|
| |||||||||||
| U.S. region | <0.001 | ||||||||||
| Northeast | 146 | 13.4 | 822 | 22.0 | 12872 | 22.9 | 1764 | 31.1 | 21308 | 22.4 | |
| South | 274 | 25.1 | 682 | 18.2 | 13312 | 23.6 | 993 | 17.5 | 26658 | 28.1 | |
| Midwest | 200 | 18.3 | 531 | 14.2 | 12520 | 22.2 | 1375 | 24.3 | 20937 | 22.0 | |
| West | 471 | 43.2 | 1706 | 45.6 | 17592 | 31.2 | 1535 | 27.1 | 26108 | 27.5 | |
|
| |||||||||||
| Physical activity | <0.001 | ||||||||||
| None or <2x/week | 520 | 49.2 | 1725 | 47.7 | 28047 | 51.5 | 2852 | 53.2 | 53845 | 59.9 | |
| 2–4x/week | 188 | 17.8 | 721 | 20.0 | 10436 | 19.2 | 1007 | 18.8 | 15098 | 16.8 | |
| >=4x/week | 349 | 33.0 | 1167 | 32.3 | 15969 | 29.3 | 1498 | 28.0 | 20917 | 23.3 | |
|
| |||||||||||
| Unopposed Estrogen Duration by Category | <0.001 | ||||||||||
| None | 652 | 59.8 | 2335 | 62.4 | 34630 | 61.5 | 3651 | 64.4 | 62834 | 66.1 | |
| < 5 Years | 158 | 14.5 | 516 | 13.8 | 7428 | 13.2 | 729 | 12.9 | 12605 | 13.3 | |
| 5 – < 10 Years | 102 | 9.3 | 283 | 7.6 | 4224 | 7.5 | 414 | 7.3 | 6338 | 6.7 | |
| 10 – < 15 Years | 63 | 5.8 | 227 | 6.1 | 3474 | 6.2 | 320 | 5.6 | 4805 | 5.1 | |
| 15+ | 116 | 10.6 | 380 | 10.2 | 6540 | 11.6 | 553 | 9.8 | 8427 | 8.9 | |
|
| |||||||||||
| Estrogen + Progesterone Duration by Category | <0.001 | ||||||||||
| None | 753 | 69.0 | 2449 | 65.5 | 39725 | 70.6 | 4132 | 72.9 | 72656 | 76.5 | |
| < 5 Years | 162 | 14.8 | 644 | 17.2 | 7963 | 14.1 | 748 | 13.2 | 11734 | 12.4 | |
| 5 – < 10 Years | 105 | 9.6 | 356 | 9.5 | 4569 | 8.1 | 421 | 7.4 | 5958 | 6.3 | |
| 10 – < 15 Years | 45 | 4.1 | 190 | 5.1 | 2730 | 4.8 | 241 | 4.3 | 3150 | 3.3 | |
| 15+ | 26 | 2.4 | 102 | 2.7 | 1309 | 2.3 | 125 | 2.2 | 1511 | 1.6 | |
|
| |||||||||||
| Vitamin C as SINGLE supplement | 474 | 43.4 | 1440 | 38.5 | 20195 | 35.9 | 2004 | 35.4 | 18578 | 19.6 | <0.001 |
|
| |||||||||||
| Vitamin E as SINGLE supplement | 512 | 46.9 | 1574 | 42.1 | 22830 | 40.6 | 2206 | 38.9 | 21462 | 22.6 | <0.001 |
|
| |||||||||||
| Calcium as single supp (including antacids) | 340 | 31.2 | 1014 | 27.1 | 19044 | 33.8 | 2130 | 37.6 | 20306 | 21.4 | <0.001 |
|
| |||||||||||
| Single Supplement (not Vitamins C, E or Ca) | 933 | 85.5 | 3741 | 100.0 | 26528 | 47.1 | 2477 | 43.7 | 28353 | 29.8 | <0.001 |
|
| |||||||||||
| Treated diabetes (pills or shots) | 33 | 3.0 | 101 | 2.7 | 1934 | 3.4 | 199 | 3.5 | 4900 | 5.2 | <0.001 |
|
| |||||||||||
| History of high cholesterol requiring pills | 111 | 10.7 | 476 | 13.3 | 7643 | 14.2 | 765 | 14.4 | 12541 | 14.2 | 0.01 |
|
| |||||||||||
| Family history of cancer | 730 | 69.9 | 2373 | 66.1 | 36356 | 67.4 | 3660 | 67.2 | 59587 | 65.8 | <0.001 |
|
| |||||||||||
| Mammogram in last 2 yrs | 911 | 85.7 | 3124 | 86.0 | 47349 | 86.3 | 4818 | 87.2 | 74608 | 81.4 | <0.001 |
|
| |||||||||||
| History of breast cancer | 45 | 4.1 | 122 | 3.3 | 2009 | 3.6 | 198 | 3.5 | 2649 | 2.8 | <0.001 |
|
| |||||||||||
| History of colorectal cancer | 8 | 0.7 | 13 | 0.3 | 341 | 0.6 | 36 | 0.6 | 549 | 0.6 | 0.31 |
|
| |||||||||||
| Family history of myocardial infarction (MI) | 518 | 50.0 | 1785 | 50.5 | 28257 | 52.9 | 2832 | 52.4 | 46780 | 52.2 | 0.006 |
|
| |||||||||||
| Mean | (SD) | Mean | (SD) | Mean | (SD) | Mean | (SD) | Mean | (SD) | P-Value | |
|
| |||||||||||
| Age at screening, years | 62.4 | (7.2) | 62.4 | (7.2) | 63.7 | (7.2) | 64.1 | (7.3) | 62.9 | (7.3) | <0.001 |
| Fruit and vegetable servings/day | 4.4 | (2.2) | 4.4 | (2.2) | 4.3 | (2.1) | 4.3 | (2.1) | 3.9 | (2.1) | <0.001 |
| Percent Calories from Fat/day | 31.0 | (8.3) | 31.1 | (8.6) | 31.7 | (8.3) | 31.5 | (8.2) | 33.4 | (8.3) | <0.001 |
| Systolic BP | 125.5 | (17.7) | 126.5 | (18.1) | 126.9 | (17.6) | 127.6 | (18.0) | 127.7 | (17.8) | <0.001 |
*
P values are from t-tests for continuous variables and chi-squared test for categorical variables.