TABLE 2.
Characteristics of controls (n=1891) and cases of breast cancer (n=610) of the UK Dietary consortium#
| Controls | Cases | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | SD | Mean | SD | p value* | |
| Age (y) | 57.2 | 9.25 | 56.6 | 9.5 | 0.04 |
| Age at first live birth (y) | 25.4 | 4.8 | 26.0 | 4.6 | 0.02 |
| Age at menopause (y) | 49.4 | 4.2 | 49.7 | 3.9 | 0.12 |
| Participant’s height (cm) | 161.47 | 6.43 | 162.7 | 6.6 | <0.0001 |
| Participant’s weight (kg) | 67.3 | 12.1 | 68.0 | 12.0 | 0.19 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 25.8 | 4.5 | 25.7 | 4.5 | 0.72 |
| Parity (Number of children) | 1.91 | 1.31 | 1.75 | 1.22 | 0.00 |
| Physical activity (low, medium, medium-high, high) % | 26/34/23/17 | 28/34/23/14 | 0.38 | ||
| Menopausal status (pre-peripost%) | 19/9/72 | 18/15/67 | <0.0001 | ||
| HRT use ever(%yes) | 32 | 30 | 0.55 | ||
| Education level (0/1/2/3) % | 34/21/29/16 | 31/21/27/21 | 0.07 | ||
| Smoking status (never-former-current) | 59/31/10 | 60/30/10 | 0.99 | ||
| Social class (0-6) % | 8/39/21/18/10/4 | 9/37/25/17/8/3 | 0.27 | ||
| Family history (% yes) | 7 | 11 | 0.00 | ||
| Ever breastfed (% yes) | 69 | 67 | 0.44 | ||
| OC use ever (%yes) | 52 | 54 | 0.41 | ||
| Energy (kcal/day) | 1740 | 403 | 1803 | 392 | 0.00 |
| Energy (MJ/day) | 7.34 | 1.69 | 7.60 | 1.65 | 0.00 |
| Saturated fat (% FE) | 12.7 | 3.1 | 12.6 | 3.2 | 0.39 |
| PUFA (% FE) | 6.4 | 1.8 | 6.5 | 1.8 | 0.37 |
| Protein (% FE) | 15.6 | 3.1 | 15.4 | 2.9 | 0.20 |
| CHO (% FE) | 47.2 | 6.4 | 47.0 | 6.8 | 0.40 |
| Non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) (g/d) | 14.7 | 5.3 | 15.4 | 5.5 | 0.005 |
| Sucrose (% FE) | 9.1 | 3.7 | 9.1 | 3.8 | 0.97 |
| Cholesterol (mg/d) | 186.2 | 85.1 | 186.2 | 82.8 | 0.99 |
| Calcium (mg/d) | 795 | 257 | 815 | 255 | 0.10 |
| Ratio MUFA/SFA | 0.94 | 0.22 | 0.96 | 0.24 | 0.05 |
| Alcohol (g/d) | 9.0 | 13.2 | 10.4 | 13.4 | 0.01 |
| Fruit and veg (g/d) | 310.6 | 178.6 | 321.1 | 183.6 | 0.21 |
| Fish (g/d) | 16.9 | 23.3 | 16.9 | 23.3 | 0.99 |
| Meat and meat products (g/d) | 92.8 | 64.0 | 93.3 | 66.1 | 0.87 |
| Vegetables (g/d) | 129.2 | 79.2 | 134.5 | 87.5 | 0.17 |
| Legumes (g/d) | 22.4 | 25.8 | 25.1 | 27.0 | 0.03 |
| Whole grain cereals (g/d) | 41.6 | 56.9 | 45.9 | 59.7 | 0.10 |
| Dairy intake incl cheese (g/d) | 271.9 | 154.8 | 275.1 | 155.7 | 0.65 |
P value based on t-test for continuous variables and chi-square for categorical variables
Abbreviations: BMI (Body Mass Index); HRT (hormone replacement therapy); OC (oral contraceptive); MJ (Mega-joule); FE (food energy); PUFA (poly unsaturated fatty acids); CHO (carbohydrate); NSP (non-starch polysaccharide)
N was 1891 for controls and 610 for cases except for age at live first birth (n controls=1507, n cases=465), age at menopause (n controls=1539, n cases=450), participant’s height (n controls=1883, n cases=603), participant’s weight (n controls=1869, n cases=604), BMI (n controls=1866, n cases=602), education level (n controls=1816, n cases=562), smoking status (n controls=1874, n cases=598), social class (n controls=1714, n cases=460), family history of breast cancer (n controls=1481, n cases=401), ever breastfed (n controls=1580, n cases=530), OC use ever (n controls=1864, n cases=604)