Appendix Table 4.
Age-standardized baseline characteristics (in 1984–1986) across quintiles of the Alternate Mediterranean diet score
Quintile 1 (n=2,022) | Quintile 2 (n=1,987) | Quintile 3 (n=2,289) | Quintile 4 (n=2,139) | Quintile 5 (n=2,233) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mean age at baseline, years a | 58.8 (2.5) | 58.9 (2.4) | 59.1 (2.5) | 59.0 (2.5) | 59.2 (2.5) |
Education | |||||
Associate’s degree | 83 | 80 | 79 | 75 | 73 |
Bachelor’s degree | 11 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 19 |
Graduate degree | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
Husband’s education | |||||
High school degree or less | 63 | 53 | 52 | 47 | 42 |
College degree | 23 | 27 | 26 | 31 | 32 |
Graduate school | 14 | 20 | 21 | 23 | 26 |
Marital status | |||||
Married | 92 | 92 | 92 | 93 | 94 |
Widowed | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
Separated/divorced | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
BMI, kg/m2 | |||||
<22 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 22 | 25 |
22–24 | 30 | 33 | 35 | 35 | 36 |
25–29 | 31 | 30 | 32 | 31 | 30 |
≥30 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 10 |
| |||||
Smoking | |||||
Never | 46 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 50 |
Former | 29 | 35 | 36 | 39 | 40 |
Current | 24 | 19 | 16 | 12 | 10 |
Mean physical activity, met-hours/week | 9.3 (13.1) | 12.8 (17.5) | 13.9 (16.7) | 16.3 (23.3) | 20.5 (25.5) |
Mean energy intake, kcal/day | 1,509 (425) | 1,625 (433) | 1,723 (455) | 1,833 (452) | 1,965 (480) |
Regular aspirin use | |||||
<1/week | 33 | 31 | 30 | 31 | 33 |
1–2/week | 32 | 34 | 33 | 34 | 33 |
>2/week | 35 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 34 |
Multivitamin use | 50 | 54 | 55 | 57 | 65 |
History of high blood pressure | 31 | 30 | 30 | 31 | 31 |
History of hypercholesterolemia | 12 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 20 |
Family history of diabetes | 33 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 |
Family history of cancer | 18 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 20 |
Family history of myocardial infarction | 15 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| |||||
Fruit, servings/day | 1.0 (0.6) | 1.4 (0.7) | 1.7 (0.8) | 1.9 (0.8) | 2.3 (0.7) |
Vegetables, servings/day | 2.0 (0.9) | 2.7 (1.2) | 3.3 (1.5) | 4.0 (1.7) | 4.7 (1.9) |
Whole grains, servings/day | 0.7 (0.7) | 1.0 (0.9) | 1.2 (0.9) | 1.5 (1.0) | 1.9 (1.1) |
Red/processed meats, servings/day | 0.9 (0.5) | 0.9 (0.5) | 0.9 (0.5) | 0.8 (0.5) | 0.7 (0.5) |
Alcohol, g/day | 6.6 (12.9) | 6.7 (11.1) | 6.7 (10.4) | 6.9 (9.7) | 7.0 (8.8) |
Nuts, servings/day | 0.2 (0.2) | 0.2 (0.2) | 0.3 (0.2) | 0.3 (0.2) | 0.5 (0.2) |
Legumes, servings/day | 0.3 (0.2) | 0.3 (0.2) | 0.4 (0.3) | 0.5 (0.3) | 0.6 (0.3) |
Fish, servings/day | 0.2 (0.1) | 0.3 (0.2) | 0.3 (0.2) | 0.4 (0.2) | 0.5 (0.3) |
MUFA:SFA ratio | 1.0 (0.1) | 1.0 (0.1) | 1.0 (0.1) | 1.1 (0.1) | 1.1 (0.1) |
Abbreviations: BMI: body mass index; met: metabolic-equivalent; MUFA: monounsaturated fats; SFA: saturated fats.
Values are means (SD) or percentages and are standardized to the age distribution of the study population at baseline. Percentages are of non-missing values.
Value is not age-standardized.