Table 2. Baseline characteristics for the study participants in the ENRICA cohort study (2008–2010) according to categories of chocolate consumption.
| Chocolate consumption (g/d) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | No consumption | ≤ 10 g/day | > 10 g/day | p value | ||
| Participants (n) | 4599 | 3327 | 479 | 793 | ||
| Total chocolate consumption, g/day, mean (SD) | 6.4 (19.8) | 0 | 5.1 (2.5) | 34.1 (36.5) | <0.0001 | |
| Men, % | 49.2 | 52.1 | 40.3 | 42.2 | <0.0001 | |
| Age, mean (SD) | 54.1 (17.2) | 55.3 (17.9) | 55.1(16.44) | 51.1 (17.2) | <0.0001 | |
| Educational level, % | ||||||
| No formal or primary education | 36.7 | 39.6 | 32.8 | 27.1 | <0.0001 | |
| Secondary education | 36.4 | 34.8 | 38.0 | 41.9 | ||
| University | 26.9 | 25.6 | 29.2 | 30.9 | ||
| Tobacco consumption, % | ||||||
| Never smokers | 49.3 | 23.6 | 20.0 | 23.6 | 0.01 | |
| Former smokers | 27.4 | 28.3 | 23.6 | 26.0 | ||
| Current smokers | 23.24 | 48.1 | 56.4 | 50.4 | ||
| Alcohol consumption, g/day, mean (SD) | 12.3 (20.1) | 13.2 (21.0) | 9.6 (16.1) | 10.6 (10.5) | <0.0001 | |
| Body mass index, Kg/m2, mean (SD) | 27.4 (4.6) | 27.6 (4.5) | 27.0 (4.4) | 26.9 (4.8) | <0.0001 | |
| Abdominal obesity, % | 42.8 | 43.9 | 38.8 | 40.7 | <0.0001 | |
| Leisure time physical activity, METs h/week, mean (SD) | 26.4 (20.4) | 26.3 (20.3) | 27.1 (21.4) | 26.2 (20.0) | 0.67 | |
| Time spent watching TV, (h/week), mean (SD) | 15.0 (10.2) | 15.2 (10.2) | 15.0 (10.5) | 14.8 (9.9) | 0.55 | |
| Adherence to the Mediterranean diet, * % | ||||||
| Low adherence (0–2 points) | 15.7 | 16.3 | 11.7 | 22.6 | <0,0001 | |
| Medium adherence (3–5 points) | 58.5 | 61.5 | 66.0 | 60.0 | ||
| High adherence (6–8 points) | 25.7 | 22.2 | 22.3 | 18.0 | ||
| Total energy intake, kcal/day, mean (SD) | 2167 (624) | 2101 (617) | 2166 (525) | 2446 (635) | <0.0001 | |
| Prevalent diseases at baseline, % | ||||||
| Coronary heart disease | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.20 | |
| Stroke | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.94 | |
| Cancer | 1.2 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.10 | |
| Depression | 6.9 | 6.9 | 6.5 | 7.3 | 0.85 | |
| Incident diseases during follow-up, % | ||||||
| Coronary heart disease | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.92 | |
| Stroke | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 0.30 | |
| Cancer | 1.9 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.09 | |
| Depression | 6.8 | 6.8 | 6.5 | 7.1 | 0.92 | |
| Cardiovascular risk factors, % | ||||||
| Hypertension ** | 44.0 | 45.8 | 39.6 | 39.1 | 0.0004 | |
| Diabetes† | 9.3 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 5.6 | 0.0002 | |
| Hypercholesterolemia‡ | 59.1 | 59.6 | 58.3 | 56.7 | 0.30 | |
| Physical component summary, mean (SD) | 48.9 (10.8) | 48.7 (10.9) | 49.2 (9.6) | 49.7 (10.2) | 0.37 | |
| Mental component summary, mean (SD) | 51.1 (10.2) | 51.1 (10.4) | 51.8 (9.1) | 50.6 (9.8) | 0.57 | |
| Physical component summary, mean (SD)║ | 48.9 (9.4) | 48.9 (9.5) | 48.7 (9.5) | 48.9 (9.7) | 0.93 | |
| Mental component summary, mean (SD)║ | 51.0 (9.5) | 50.9 (9.6) | 51.8 (9.5) | 50.9 (9.7) | 0.56 | |
SD: Standard Deviation; MET: Metabolic Equivalents; TV: television;
* Trichopoulou score.
** Hypertension was defined as systolic pressure ≥140 mm Hg, diastolic pressure ≥90mmHg, or use of antihypertensive drugs.
†Diabetes mellitus was defined as serum glucose ≥126 mg/dl or use of antidiabetic drugs.
‡Hypercholesterolemia was defined as total serum cholesterol ≥200 mg/dl or use of hypolipidemic drugs.
║Adjusted for sex, age (18–44,45–64,65 and over), educational level (no formal or primary education; secondary education; university), tobacco consumption (never smokers, former smokers, current smokers), alcohol consumption g/day (quartiles), body mass index kg/m2 (quartiles), abdominal obesity (yes/no), leisure time physical activity METs-h/week (quartiles), time spent watching television h/week (quartiles), adherence to the Mediterranean diet (low adherence 0–2 points, medium adherence 3–5 points, high adherence 6–8 points), total energy kcal/day (quartiles) and prevalent diseases (coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer and depression).