Table 2.
Distribution of participant characteristics across WCRF/AICR score categories
| Nurses’ Health Study; 1990 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||
| Characteristic | 0 to ≤2 (least adherent) (n1=211) | >2 to ≤3 (n1=2,007) | >3 to ≤4 (n1=4,619) | >4 to ≤5 (n1=3,992) | >5 to 6 (most adherent) (n1=513) |
| Plasma biomarkers [geometric mean ± CV]2 | |||||
| C-reactive protein (mg/L) | 3.3 ± 1.0 | 2.2 ± 1.3 | 1.6 ± 1.4 | 1.2 ± 1.4 | 1.1 ± 1.3 |
| Interleukin-6 (pg/mL) | 2.0 ± 1.2 | 1.5 ± 1.0 | 1.3 ± 1.0 | 1.1 ± 1.1 | 1.1 ± 1.0 |
| Tumor necrosis factor alpha receptor 2 (ng/ml) | 2.7 ± 0.6 | 2.7 ± 0.6 | 2.5 ± 0.6 | 2.5 ± 0.6 | 2.5 ± 0.6 |
| Adiponectin (μg/mL) | 10.0 ± 0.8 | 9.0 ± 0.8 | 10.0 ± 0.8 | 11.0 ± 0.8 | 12.2 ± 0.8 |
| C-peptide (ng/mL) | 3.0 ± 1.0 | 2.7 ± 0.9 | 2.2 ± 0.9 | 1.8 ± 0.9 | 1.8 ± 0.8 |
| TG/HDL ratio | 3.0 ± 1.1 | 2.5 ± 1.1 | 2.2 ± 1.0 | 1.8 ± 0.9 | 1.6 ± 1.0 |
| Estrone (pg/mL)3 | 30.0 ± 0.8 | 30.0 ± 0.8 | 24.5 ± 0.8 | 24.5 ± 0.8 | 22.2 ± 0.8 |
| Estradiol (pg/mL)3 | 10.0 ± 0.9 | 8.2 ± 1.0 | 6.7 ± 1.0 | 6.0 ± 0.9 | 5.5 ± 0.9 |
| Age at blood draw (years) | 55.1 ± 6.6 | 55.5 ± 6.8 | 56.1 ± 6.8 | 56.6 ± 6.8 | 58.1 ± 6.3 |
| WCRF/AICR score components [mean ± SD] | |||||
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 31.1 ± 6.1 | 29.5 ± 6.0 | 26.3 ± 4.8 | 23.9 ± 3.1 | 22.6 ± 2.0 |
| Physical activity (MET-hrs/week) | 2.9 ± 3.6 | 6.1 ± 10.4 | 16.8 ± 19.3 | 28.2 ± 23.2 | 35.6 ± 38.1 |
| Energy density (Kcal/100g/d) | 788 ± 620 | 593 ± 361 | 520 ± 424 | 339 ± 301 | 153 ± 109 |
| Sugary drinks (g/d) | 534 ± 1326 | 380 ± 1066 | 330 ± 1006 | 302 ± 936 | 232 ± 752 |
| Fruits and vegetables (g/d) | 187 ± 749 | 244 ± 626 | 327 ± 702 | 489 ± 784 | 956 ± 847 |
| Dietary fiber (g/d) | 13.3 ± 3.8 | 16.2 ± 4.2 | 17.8 ± 4.7 | 20.2 ± 5.5 | 25.0 ± 7.2 |
| Red meat (g/wk) | 807 ± 1650 | 735 ± 1761 | 626 ± 1625 | 523 ± 1526 | 362 ± 1286 |
| Processed meat (g/d) | 7.0 ± 20.9 | 4.3 ± 17.8 | 3.6 ± 22.5 | 2.4 ± 19.5 | 0.5 ± 2.2 |
| Alcohol (g/d) | 21.8 ± 18.8 | 8.3 ± 13.6 | 5.6 ± 9.5 | 3.1 ± 5.0 | 1.9 ± 2.7 |
| Smoking status (%) | |||||
| Never | 29.9 | 39.5 | 42.5 | 47.5 | 49.5 |
| Former | 37.9 | 42.2 | 42.7 | 41.7 | 43.3 |
| Current | 32.2 | 18.3 | 14.8 | 10.9 | 7.2 |
| Regular aspirin/NSAID user (%) | 38.9 | 40.7 | 37.8 | 33.8 | 29.0 |
| Chronic disease/conditions comorbidity score4 | |||||
| no chronic disease/condition | 38.9 | 35.9 | 41.1 | 43.3 | 42.3 |
| 1 chronic disease/condition | 28.9 | 29.8 | 31.0 | 33.0 | 32.4 |
| 2 chronic diseases/conditions | 19.4 | 21.1 | 17.9 | 16.6 | 18.1 |
| ≥3 chronic diseases/conditions | 12.8 | 13.3 | 10.1 | 7.0 | 7.2 |
| Postmenopausal women (%) | 84.4 | 84.0 | 85.2 | 87.2 | 91.8 |
| Postmenopausal hormone user (%) | 41.7 | 46.8 | 52.4 | 56.9 | 64.7 |
|
| |||||
| Health Professionals Follow-up Study; 1994 | |||||
|
| |||||
| 0 to ≤2 (least adherent) (n1=235) | >2 to ≤3 (n1=749) | >3 to ≤4 (n1=2,296) | >4 to ≤5 (n1=3,831) | >5 to 6 (most adherent) (n1=1,025) | |
|
| |||||
| Plasma biomarkers [geometric mean ± CV]2 | |||||
| C-reactive protein (mg/L) | 1.3 ± 1.5 | 1.2 ± 1.3 | 1.1 ± 1.6 | 0.8 ± 1.4 | 0.7 ± 1.4 |
| Interleukin-6 (pg/mL) | 2.0 ± 1.0 | 1.5 ± 1.1 | 1.5 ± 1.1 | 1.2 ± 1.4 | 1.2 ± 1.1 |
| tumor necrosis factor alpha receptor 2 (ng/ml) | 2.7 ± 0.6 | 2.7 ± 0.6 | 2.7 ± 0.6 | 2.7 ± 0.6 | 2.7 ± 0.6 |
| Adiponectin (μg/mL) | 5.5 ± 0.8 | 6.0 ± 0.8 | 6.0 ± 0.8 | 6.0 ± 0.8 | 6.7 ± 0.8 |
| C-peptide (ng/mL) | 3.0 ± 0.9 | 2.7 ± 0.9 | 2.5 ± 0.9 | 2.2 ± 0.9 | 1.8 ± 0.9 |
| TG/HDL ratio | 3.0 ± 1.1 | 3.0 ± 1.1 | 3.0 ± 1.1 | 2.7 ± 1.1 | 2.2 ± 1.0 |
| Age at blood draw (years) | 62.5 ± 9.1 | 61.8 ± 8.5 | 61.8 ± 8.5 | 62.1 ± 8.8 | 62.8 ± 8.9 |
| WCRF/AICR score components [mean ± SD] | |||||
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 28.6 ± 5.5 | 28.0 ± 4.2 | 27.1 ± 3.6 | 25.4 ± 8.8 | 23.4 ± 1.7 |
| Physical activity (MET-hrs/week) | 23.0 ± 38.7 | 23.6 ± 38.9 | 29.4 ± 35.1 | 43.0 ± 42.3 | 48.5 ± 38.4 |
| Energy density (Kcal/100g/d) | 331 ± 185 | 330 ± 206 | 306 ± 182 | 276 ± 159 | 206 ± 107 |
| Sugary drinks (g/d) | 441 ± 418 | 391 ± 374 | 313 ± 325 | 249 ± 257 | 192 ± 178 |
| Fruits and vegetables (g/d) | 353 ± 219 | 357 ± 186 | 397 ±221 | 461 ± 261 | 605 ± 269 |
| Dietary fiber (g/d) | 15.8 ± 4.7 | 18.8 ± 5.6 | 21.2 ± 6.5 | 23.8 ± 7.1 | 26.3 ± 8.0 |
| Red meat (g/wk) | 671 ± 392 | 552 ± 449 | 491 ± 389 | 382 ± 324 | 275 ± 241 |
| Processed meat (g/d) | 12.5 ± 14.6 | 10.0 ± 10.6 | 8.6 ± 10.8 | 6.7 ± 9.4 | 4.3 ± 6.2 |
| Alcohol (g/d) | 25.4 ± 22.8 | 23.5 ± 22.6 | 16.2 ± 18.3 | 8.5 ± 10.4 | 6.0 ± 6.0 |
| Smoking status (%) | |||||
| Never | 33.2 | 37.0 | 39.5 | 49.3 | 54.9 |
| Former | 54.9 | 52.7 | 53.4 | 46.1 | 41.5 |
| Current | 11.9 | 10.3 | 7.2 | 4.6 | 3.6 |
| Regular aspirin/NSAID user (%) | 17.0 | 13.5 | 16.3 | 12.7 | 11.7 |
| Chronic disease/conditions comorbidity score4 | |||||
| no chronic disease/condition | 34.9 | 37.3 | 38.5 | 42.4 | 45.9 |
| 1 chronic disease/condition | 30.6 | 30.7 | 34.3 | 31.5 | 30.8 |
| 2 chronic diseases/conditions | 20.4 | 20.2 | 16.5 | 17.4 | 14.7 |
| ≥3 chronic diseases/conditions | 14.0 | 11.9 | 10.7 | 8.7 | 8.6 |
Biomarker sample sizes vary: in NHS, n=3,550 for all four inflammatory markers, n=5,834 for C-peptide, n=3,826 for TG/HDL ratio, n=1,217 for estrone, n=1,254 for estradiol; and in HPFS, n=5,157 for C-reactive protein, n=3,044 for interleukin-6, n=4,072 for tumor necrosis factor alpha receptor 2, n=4,348 for adiponectin, n=3,955 for C-peptide and n=3,575 for TG/HDL ratio in HPFS; TG=triglycerides, HDL=high density lipoprotein cholesterol. Sample size for all other characteristics is the total sample size;
Hormornes (estrone and estradiol) were examined only among postmenopausal women not using exogenous hormones
Geometric means (coefficient of variation, CV) are presented for biomarkers because all biomarkers were log transformed prior to analyses; The Quan-Zhang formula, CV=(eSD-1)1/2 was used to calculate CVs (ref #40);
Chronic diseases/conditions included in the score: hypercholesterolemia, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, ulcerative colitis and rheumatoid/other arthritis.
TG=triglycerides, HDL=high density lipoprotein cholesterol.