TABLE 1.
Characteristics of 3690 middle-aged and older diabetes-free women in the Nurses’ Health Study according to quartiles of total red meat consumption1
| Q1 (n = 921) | Q2 (n = 924) | Q3 (n = 922) | Q4 (n = 923) | |
| Age at blood draw (y) | 60.4 ± 0.22 | 59.5 ± 0.2 | 58.7 ± 0.2 | 58.1 ± 0.2 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 24.7 ± 0.2 | 25.4 ± 0.2 | 26.2 ± 0.2 | 26.7 ± 0.2 |
| Hypertension (%) | 29.2 | 31.9 | 30.4 | 31.3 |
| Hypercholesterolemia (%) | 47.6 | 42.8 | 37.0 | 37.6 |
| White (%) | 97.5 | 98.4 | 98.2 | 99.2 |
| Family history of diabetes (%) | 25.7 | 23.4 | 25.9 | 27.6 |
| Fasting status (%) | 79.9 | 77.9 | 75.9 | 78.0 |
| Postmenopausal hormone use (%) | 48.2 | 46.7 | 43.8 | 40.1 |
| Smoking status (%) | ||||
| Never | 44.8 | 45.5 | 43.2 | 46.9 |
| Former | 43.5 | 40.7 | 41.4 | 35.6 |
| Current | 11.6 | 13.9 | 15.4 | 17.4 |
| Physical activity (MET-h/wk) | 18.3 ± 0.7 | 16.6 ± 0.7 | 15.3 ± 0.7 | 12.7 ± 0.7 |
| Total energy intake (kcal/d) | 1512 ± 15 | 1646 ± 15 | 1804 ± 15 | 2088 ± 15 |
| Alternative Healthy Eating Index | 53.1 ± 0.3 | 49.8 ± 0.3 | 47.6 ± 0.3 | 45.9 ± 0.3 |
1
MET, metabolic equivalent task; Q, quartile.
2
Mean ± SE (all such values).