Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of 20,278 participants in the Physicians’ Health Study according to chocolate intake
| Chocolate intake (servings/week) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics1 | 0 | <1 | 1 | 2–4 | 5+ | P for trend |
| n | 5359 | 5907 | 3919 | 3234 | 1859 | |
| Age (y) | 67.0 ± 8.8 | 66.0 ± 8.9 | 66.2 ± 9.2 | 66.2 ± 9.6 | 66.7 ± 10.1 | 0.39 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 25.6 ± 3.3 | 25.9 ± 3.4 | 25.8 ± 3.2 | 25.8 ± 3.3 | 25.6 ±3.3 | 0.24 |
| White | 85.4 | 91.3 | 94.2 | 95.6 | 95.7 | <0.01 |
| Smoking status | ||||||
| Never | 50.0 | 54.0 | 56.9 | 57.8 | 56.3 | <0.01 |
| Past | 46.0 | 42.9 | 39.9 | 38.8 | 40.0 | <0.01 |
| Current | 3.8 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 0.47 |
| Alcohol consumption | ||||||
| Rarely/Never | 17.0 | 15.4 | 16.8 | 18.6 | 20.3 | <0.01 |
| 1–3×/month | 6.6 | 7.3 | 8.0 | 8.8 | 8.7 | <0.01 |
| 1–6×/week | 35.6 | 38.7 | 39.4 | 39.7 | 37.7 | <0.01 |
| 1 or more/day | 40.3 | 38.0 | 35.1 | 32.3 | 32.8 | <0.01 |
| Exercise (days per week) | ||||||
| <1 | 38.0 | 37.3 | 35.8 | 36.5 | 37.6 | 0.20 |
| 1–2 | 15.3 | 16.7 | 17.3 | 16.3 | 15.3 | 0.56 |
| 3–4 | 28.1 | 29.2 | 30.2 | 30.9 | 29.1 | 0.03 |
| 5–7 | 16.7 | 15.3 | 15.1 | 14.4 | 16.3 | 0.08 |
| Prevalent diabetes | 11.4 | 6.5 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 4.8 | <0.01 |
| Prevalent hypertension | 49.6 | 46.2 | 44.4 | 42.5 | 43.3 | <0.01 |
| Prevalent MI | 4.8 | 3.9 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.7 | <0.01 |
| Prevalent atrial fibrillation | 9.1 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 8.6 | 8.6 | 0.50 |
| Calories (kcal) | 1534.9 ± 481.1 | 1626.2 ± 485.5 | 1705.6 ± 499.8 | 1795.8 ± 509.5 | 2033.6 ± 579.9 | <0.01 |
| Sodium (mg) | 1356.6 ± 528.2 | 1455.4 ± 532.5 | 1527.1 ± 546.3 | 1576.0 ± 541.3 | 1690.7 ± 607.4 | <0.01 |
| Fruits and Vegetables (s/d) | 4.8 ± 2.9 | 4.8 ± 2.6 | 4.9 ± 2.6 | 4.9 ± 2.5 | 5.2 ± 3.0 | <0.01 |
| Red Meat (s/d) | 0.6 ± 0.6 | 0.7 ± 0.6 | 0.7 ± 0.6 | 0.8 ± 0.6 | 0.9 ± 0.7 | <0.01 |
1
Data are presented as means ± SD, median (IQR), or percentages. Few participants had missing data: BMI (n=3), race (n=52), smoking (n=14), alcohol (n=117), exercise (n=349), calories (n=894), sodium (n=894), fruit and vegetable intake (n=1), red meat intake (n=21)