Table 1:
Baseline characteristics of the study participants
| Characteristic | Intervention group, % (no.)* | p value† | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mediterranean diet + EVOO n = 1982 |
Mediterranean diet + nuts n = 1885 |
Low-fat diet (control) n = 1934 |
||
| Age, yr | 67.1 (6.2) | 66.7 (6.0) | 67.3 (6.2) | 0.04 |
| Male sex | 40.9 (811) | 45.0 (849) | 40.2 (777) | < 0.001 |
| Smoking history | ||||
| Former smoker | 23.6 (468) | 26.5 (499) | 23.7 (459) | 0.08 |
| Current smoker | 13.8 (273) | 14.4 (272) | 14.1 (273) | 0.8 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 30.0 (3.8) | 29.8 (3.8) | 30.3 (4.1) | < 0.001 |
| Waist circumference, cm | 100.4 (10.2) | 100.0 (10.5) | 100.8 (10.7) | 0.08 |
| Leisure time physical activity, METs/min per d | 233 (236) | 249 (244) | 210 (243) | < 0.001 |
| Mediterranean diet score (0–14) | 8.8 (1.9) | 8.8 (1.9) | 8.4 (1.9) | < 0.001 |
| Type 2 diabetes | 48.0 (952) | 45.1 (850) | 47.8 (925) | 0.1 |
| Metabolic syndrome | 65.1 (1291) | 61.8 (1165) | 64.7 (1251) | 0.07 |
| Metabolic syndrome component‡ | ||||
| Central obesity | 74.6 (1465) | 69.6 (1305) | 75.3 (1440) | < 0.001 |
| Hypertriglyceridemia | 34.5 (682) | 32.7 (615) | 32.8 (631) | 0.4 |
| Low HDL cholesterol | 29.4 (579) | 28.3 (531) | 29.1 (560) | 0.8 |
| Hypertension | 93.4 (1849) | 94.0 (1771) | 94.6 (1830) | 0.3 |
| High fasting plasma glucose | 65.3 (1291) | 64.2 (1203) | 65.9 (1271) | 0.6 |
| Use of medications | ||||
| Antihypertensive agents | 72.0 (1 428) | 73.0 (1 376) | 73.4 (1 420) | 0.3 |
| Fibrates | 4.1 (81) | 4.6 (86) | 3.5 (68) | 0.3 |
| Statins | 41.5 (822) | 38.4 (726) | 39.7 (767) | 0.2 |
| Insulin | 7.3 (145) | 6.0 (113) | 7.5 (144) | 0.1 |
| Hypoglycaemic agents | 30.2 (598) | 26.9 (505) | 30.7 (593) | 0.02 |
| Aspirin or antiplatelet drugs | 19.7 (390) | 20.4 (384) | 21.3 (412) | 0.5 |
Note: BMI = body mass index, EVOO = extra virgin olive oil, HDL = high-density lipoprotein, MET = metabolic equivalent of task.
*
Unless otherwise stated.
†
Values determined using χ2 test for categorical variables and analysis of variance for continuous variables.
‡
Defined in accordance with the International Diabetes Federation and the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute criteria.38