Table 2.
Baseline Characteristics of Participants, by MedDiet Score (n = 2,326)
| Characteristic, Mean ± SD or n (%) | Whites | Blacks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower MedDiet Scorea (n = 944) | High MedDiet Scorea (n = 508) | p Value | Lower MedDiet Scorea (n = 547) | High MedDiet Scorea (n = 327) | p Value | |
| Age | 74.6±2.9 | 74.8±2.8 | .17 | 74.4±2.8 | 74.6±2.9 | .56 |
| Female | 449 (47.3%) | 245 (47.9%) | .84 | 303 (55.3%) | 220 (66.9%) | <.001 |
| Education | ||||||
| <12 y | 111 (11.7%) | 35 (6.8%) | <.001 | 229 (42.1%) | 95 (28.9%) | <.001 |
| 12 y | 363 (38.3%) | 143 (27.9%) | 187 (34.4%) | 110 (33.4%) | ||
| >12 y | 474 (50.0%) | 334 (65.2%) | 128 (23.5%) | 124 (37.7%) | ||
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 26.7±4.2 | 26.2±4.1 | .008 | 28.6±4.5 | 28.7±5.4 | .79 |
| Current smoking | 50 (5.3%) | 24 (4.7%) | .63 | 90 (16.5%) | 30 (9.1%) | .002 |
| Alcohol (≥1 drink/d) | 104 (11.0%) | 121 (23.6%) | <.001 | 38 (6.9%) | 22 (6.7%) | .89 |
| Physical activity (kcal/kg/wk walking) | 7.0±13.7 | 8.7±12.3 | <.001 | 4.2±8.6 | 6.3±12.8 | .005 |
| High socioeconomic status | 680 (74.5%) | 385 (80.5%) | .01 | 237 (44.6%) | 165 (52.1%) | .04 |
| Geriatric Depression scale (range: 0–15) | 5.4±1.1 | 5.2±0.9 | .004 | 5.8±1.3 | 5.5±1.0 | <.001 |
| Stroke | 85 (9.0%) | 34 (6.6%) | .12 | 48 (8.8%) | 38 (11.6%) | .18 |
| Myocardial infarction | 120 (12.7%) | 88 (17.2%) | .02 | 73 (13.4%) | 45 (13.7%) | .89 |
| Diabetes | 170 (17.9%) | 55 (10.7%) | <.001 | 149 (27.2%) | 79 (24.0%) | .30 |
| Hypertension | 603 (63.5%) | 317 (62.2%) | .60 | 429 (78.3%) | 260 (79.0%) | .80 |
| Energy intake (kcal/d) | 1,796.1±679.5 | 1,860.9±627.4 | .03 | 1,934.6±895.6 | 2,018.7±874.7 | .08 |
| Apolipoprotein E ε4 | 215 (23.6%) | 117 (23.9%) | .90 | 189 (37.3%) | 98 (31.6%) | .10 |
| 3MS score | 92.9±5.6 | 93.8±5.3 | <.001 | 86.3±9.2 | 88.6±7.9 | <.001 |
aHigh = top race-specific tertile of MedDiet score; Lower = middle and bottom race-specific tertiles of MedDiet score.