Table 1.
Characteristics of the Participants and Changes over Time, According to Quintiles of Change in the Alternate Healthy Eating Index–2010 Score over 12 Years.*
| Variable | Quintile of Change in Nurses’ Health Study | Quintile of Change in Health Professionals Follow-up Study | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quintile 1 (Largest Decrease) (N = 9598) | Quintile 3 (Relatively No Change) (N = 9599) | Quintile 5 (Largest Increase) (N = 9599) | Quintile 1 (Largest Decrease) (N = 5149) | Quintile 3 (Relatively No Change) (N = 5149) | Quintile 5 (Largest Increase) (N = 5149) | |
| Diet score | ||||||
|
| ||||||
| Baseline | 60.1±10.1 | 50.8±9.8 | 44.7±9.7 | 60.8±10.5 | 52.1±10.5 | 46.3±10.2 |
|
| ||||||
| Change | −11.7±4.7 | 2.2±1.4 | 15.9±4.7 | −10.7±4.8 | 3.4±1.4 | 17.4±4.8 |
|
| ||||||
| Age (yr) | 65.4±7.1 | 63.5±7.0 | 62.4±6.7 | 64.6±9.2 | 63.6±8.9 | 63.2±8.7 |
|
| ||||||
| Initial body-mass index† | 25.1±4.4 | 25.2±4.6 | 24.9±4.7 | 25.5±3.1 | 25.3±3.1 | 25.1±3.0 |
|
| ||||||
| Weight change (kg) | 4.8±7.7 | 4.0±6.9 | 2.8±6.9 | 3.4±6.1 | 2.5±5.6 | 1.6±5.6 |
|
| ||||||
| Physical activity (MET-hr/wk) | ||||||
|
| ||||||
| Baseline | 15.1±20.6 | 13.2±18.7 | 12.8±18.8 | 24.0±37.0 | 21.9±27.0 | 20.9±28.3 |
|
| ||||||
| Change | 1.8±21.3 | 4.7±20.2 | 6.2±20.8 | 1.4±28.3 | 3.6±26.8 | 6.4±28.2 |
|
| ||||||
| Alcohol intake (g/day) | ||||||
|
| ||||||
| Baseline | 5.9±8.5 | 6.1±10.5 | 7.5±13.2 | 11.2±12.7 | 11.4±14.9 | 12.0±17.5 |
|
| ||||||
| Change | −0.4±7.6 | −1.0±6.9 | −2.3±9.3 | 1.8±12.1 | −0.5±10.2 | −2.1±12.7 |
|
| ||||||
| Energy intake (kcal/day) | ||||||
|
| ||||||
| Baseline | 1756±517 | 1798±506 | 1789±490 | 1962±600 | 2029±611 | 1972±573 |
|
| ||||||
| Change | −2.5±518 | −35.3±485 | −62.4±496 | 56.7±583 | −23.2±551 | −33.4±560 |
|
| ||||||
| White race (%)‡ | 99 | 98 | 97 | 97 | 96 | 95 |
|
| ||||||
| Smoking status (%) | ||||||
|
| ||||||
| Remained a never smoker | 42 | 48 | 47 | 44 | 48 | 50 |
|
| ||||||
| Change from current smoker to former smoker or remained former smoker | 47 | 42 | 44 | 46 | 43 | 43 |
|
| ||||||
| Change from never smoked or smoked in past to current smoker or remained current smoker | 10 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
|
| ||||||
| Smoking history among ever smokers (no. of pack-yr)§ | ||||||
|
| ||||||
| Baseline | 21.0±17.4 | 20.4±17.6 | 21.3±17.9 | 22.0±16.3 | 21.8±16.6 | 21.8±16.8 |
|
| ||||||
| Change | 2.7±5.0 | 2.7±5.0 | 2.7±4.8 | 1.2±3.6 | 1.2±3.7 | 1.1±3.7 |
|
| ||||||
| Past diagnoses (%) | ||||||
|
| ||||||
| Hypertension | 44 | 43 | 43 | 36 | 33 | 33 |
|
| ||||||
| High cholesterol | 56 | 56 | 59 | 44 | 47 | 49 |
|
| ||||||
| Diabetes | 6 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|
| ||||||
| Current use of medication or supplements (%) | ||||||
|
| ||||||
| Aspirin | 53 | 54 | 55 | 64 | 66 | 64 |
|
| ||||||
| Multivitamins | 62 | 62 | 63 | 60 | 59 | 62 |
|
| ||||||
| Antihypertensive medication | 37 | 36 | 35 | 28 | 27 | 26 |
|
| ||||||
| Cholesterol-lowering medication | 14 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 14 |
|
| ||||||
| Family history (%) | ||||||
|
| ||||||
| Myocardial infarction | 25 | 25 | 25 | 33 | 32 | 32 |
|
| ||||||
| Diabetes | 30 | 30 | 29 | 23 | 23 | 24 |
*
Plus–minus values are means ±SD. All variables except age are age-standardized. Scores on the Alternate Healthy Eating Index–2010 range from 0 to 110, with higher scores indicating a healthier diet. MET denotes metabolic equivalent.
†
The body-mass index is the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters.
‡
Race was reported by the participants.
§
A pack-year is defined as the equivalent of smoking one pack of cigarettes (20 cigarettes) per day for 1 year.