Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study cohort in relation to fifths of red meat intake. Values are numbers (percentages) unless stated otherwise
| Characteristics | Fifth of red meat intake, g/1000 kcal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (n=107 393) | 2 (n=107 394) | 3 (n=107 394) | 4 (n=107 394) | 5 (n=107 394) | |
| Total deaths (n=128 524) | 22 075 | 23 765 | 25 532 | 27 321 | 29 831 |
| Cancer (n=45 740) | 7869 | 8510 | 9228 | 9858 | 10 275 |
| Heart disease (n=34 723) | 5864 | 6291 | 6745 | 7345 | 8478 |
| Respiratory disease (n=10 202) | 1394 | 1812 | 2142 | 2241 | 2613 |
| Stroke (n=5837) | 1128 | 1131 | 1178 | 1245 | 1155 |
| Diabetes (n=3717) | 504 | 576 | 687 | 845 | 1105 |
| Infections (n=2691) | 474 | 505 | 513 | 589 | 610 |
| Alzheimer’s disease (n=2108) | 542 | 436 | 407 | 364 | 359 |
| Chronic kidney disease (n=1942) | 308 | 328 | 389 | 417 | 500 |
| Chronic liver disease (n=1133) | 162 | 174 | 239 | 245 | 313 |
| Other causes (n=20 431) | 3830 | 4002 | 4004 | 4172 | 4423 |
| Mean red meat, g/1000 kcal | 9.3 | 21.3 | 31.4 | 43.0 | 67.5 |
| Processed | 2.3 | 5.2 | 7.9 | 11.1 | 17.2 |
| Unprocessed | 6.9 | 16.1 | 23.5 | 31.9 | 50.3 |
| Mean white meat, g/1000 kcal | 37.0 | 33.8 | 32.5 | 32.0 | 32.1 |
| Processed | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.7 |
| Unprocessed | 34.1 | 30.9 | 29.6 | 29.3 | 29.5 |
| Mean processed meat, g/1000 kcal | 4.4 | 7.1 | 9.6 | 12.6 | 18.5 |
| Male sex | 48 818 (45.5) | 55 869 (52.0) | 63 012 (58.7) | 70 343 (65.5) | 78 463 (73.1) |
| Mean age, years | 62.5 | 62.5 | 62.3 | 62.0 | 61.5 |
| Previous cancer | 8926 (8.3) | 8676 (8.1) | 8486 (7.9) | 8335 (7.8) | 7740 (7.2) |
| Heart disease | 17 313 (16.1) | 14 758 (13.7) | 14 170 (13.2) | 14 423 (13.4) | 14 614 (13.6) |
| Stroke | 2269 (2.1) | 2122 (2.0) | 2249 (2.1) | 2292 (2.1) | 2560 (2.4) |
| Diabetes | 6745 (6.3) | 7836 (7.3) | 9090 (8.5) | 10 875 (10.1) | 14 637 (13.6) |
| Fair or poor health | 12 079 (11.2) | 12 487 (11.6) | 13 436 (12.5) | 14 579 (13.6) | 16 685 (15.5) |
| Race: | |||||
| Non-Hispanic white | 93 733 (87.3) | 97 623 (90.9) | 99 051 (92.2) | 100 151 (93.3) | 100 229 (93.3) |
| Non-Hispanic black | 6454 (6.0) | 4641 (4.3) | 3770 (3.5) | 3049 (2.8) | 2606 (2.4) |
| Other/missing | 7206 (6.7) | 5130 (4.8) | 4573 (4.3) | 4194 (3.9) | 4559 (4.3) |
| Smoking: | |||||
| Never smoker | 43 458 (40.5) | 39 887 (37.1) | 37 413 (34.8) | 35 135 (32.7) | 31 579 (29.4) |
| Former smoker | 50 523 (47.0) | 50 987 (47.5) | 51 117 (47.6) | 51 630 (48.1) | 51 650 (48.1) |
| Current smoker or having quit <1 year | 9057 (8.4) | 12 569 (11.7) | 14 981 (14.0) | 16 736 (15.6) | 20 086 (18.7) |
| Missing | 4355 (4.1) | 3951 (3.7) | 3883 (3.6) | 3893 (3.6) | 4079 (3.8) |
| Highest socioeconomic status level | 25 540 (23.8) | 22 582 (21.1) | 21 011 (19.6) | 19 827 (18.5) | 18 324 (17.1) |
| Education, college or postgraduate | 47 620 (44.3) | 42 254 (39.3) | 40 692 (37.9) | 39 217 (36.5) | 37 217 (34.7) |
| Vigorous physical activity ≥5 times/week | 28 252 (26.3) | 21 656 (20.2) | 19 144 (17.8) | 17 546 (16.3) | 16 017 (14.9) |
| Mean body mass index | 25.8 | 26.7 | 27.2 | 27.6 | 28.3 |
| Mean energy intake, kcal/day | 1696 | 1755 | 1827 | 1892 | 1989 |
| Mean alcohol intake, g/1000 kcal | 5.7 | 6.5 | 6.3 | 5.8 | 5.0 |
| Mean vegetable intake, g/1000 kcal | 2.6 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.0 |
| Mean fruit intake, g/1000 kcal | 2.4 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.2 |
| Meat associated compound intake: | |||||
| Mean heme iron, μg/1000 kcal | 70.2 | 121.8 | 170.3 | 231.0 | 372.5 |
| Mean processed meat nitrate, mg/1000 kcal | 0.18 | 0.36 | 0.53 | 0.72 | 1.11 |
| Mean processed meat nitrite, mg/1000 kcal | 0.02 | 0.05 | 0.08 | 0.11 | 0.17 |