Table 1.
Age-adjusted characteristics of the NHS and HPFS at median follow-up time
| Characteristic | NHS (1994)a | NHS2 (1999)a | HPFS (1996)a | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quintile 1 (n = 11,449) |
Quintile 5 (n = 14,974) |
Quintile 1 (n = 18,030) |
Quintile 5 (n = 13,878) |
Quintile 1 (n = 6428) |
Quintile 5 (n = 7472) |
|
| Age, yearsb | 62.4 (6.8) | 57.6 (6.8) | 45.1 (4.5) | 43.4 (4.7) | 64.6 (9.4) | 59.5 (8.4) |
| Premenopausal, % | 10.2 | 11.0 | 74.1 | 70.5 | − | − |
| Family history of diabetes, % | 17.3 | 19.1 | 14.9 | 17.4 | 19.1 | 20.2 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 24.9 (4.4) | 27.3 (5.6) | 24.8 (5.0) | 28.0 (6.9) | 25.4 (3.5) | 26.5 (3.9) |
| Hypertension, % | 21.3 | 24.4 | 9.3 | 15.2 | 35.6 | 36.6 |
| Hypercholesterolaemia, % | 27.7 | 30.1 | 18.6 | 24.6 | 41.0 | 43.4 |
| Moderate/vigorous intensity activity, h/week | 2.6 (4.1) | 1.5 (3.0) | 3.0 (4.0) | 1.7 (2.8) | 5.0 (6.4) | 3.1 (5.0) |
| Current smoker, % | 14.2 | 13.0 | 10.1 | 8.5 | 4.4 | 7.1 |
| Alcohol intake, g/day | 5.8 (10.1) | 4.5 (9.1) | 5.0 (8.3) | 2.7 (6.4) | 11.8 (15.8) | 9.7 (14.0) |
| AHEI score | 50.6 (10.1) | 45.0 (9.8) | 50.1 (9.5) | 41.3 (8.5) | 53.0 (9.0) | 44.0 (9.3) |
| Western dietary pattern score | 0.4 (0.9) | 0.6 (0.8) | −0.3 (0.7) | 0.1 (0.8) | −0.4 (0.7) | 0.2 (1.0) |
| Glycaemic load, units/day | 113.5 (16.8) | 95.6 (15.7) | 134.5 (18.6) | 114.2 (19.5) | 145.6 (23.9) | 117.5 (22.3) |
| Red meat intake, no. of servings/day | 0.8 (0.5) | 1.1 (0.6) | 0.6 (0.4) | 1.2 (0.6) | 0.7 (0.5) | 1.4 (0.9) |
| Sugar-containing beverage intake, no. of servings/day | 1.5 (0.9) | 0.9 (0.6) | 1.4 (1.2) | 0.9 (1.0) | 1.5 (1.2) | 1.0 (0.8) |
| Dairy intake, no. of servings/day | 1.6 (0.9) | 1.4 (0.8) | 2.3 (1.3) | 1.8 (1.1) | 1.9 (1.3) | 1.7 (1.2) |
| Vegetable intake, no. of servings/day | 4.3 (1.7) | 3.4 (1.2) | 3.9 (2.0) | 2.3 (1.1) | 3.9 (2.0) | 2.4 (1.2) |
| Nut intake, no. of servings/day | 1.2 (0.8) | 0.8 (0.6) | 0.4 (0.4) | 0.2 (0.2) | 0.6 (0.5) | 0.4 (0.4) |
| Fruit intake, no. of servings/day | 1.7 (1.0) | 0.8 (0.5) | 1.8 (1.1) | 0.7 (0.5) | 2.6 (1.6) | 1.0 (0.7) |
| Whole grain intake, g/day | 15.4 (10.4) | 11.1 (7.9) | 28.3 (15.9) | 18.2 (11.8) | 32.3 (20.1) | 20.3 (15.5) |
| Fish intake, no. of servings/day | 0.2 (0.2) | 0.3 (0.2) | 0.2 (0.2) | 0.2 (0.2) | 0.3 (0.3) | 0.4 (0.3) |
| Energy intake, kJ/day | 7196 (2192) | 6987 (2205) | 7510 (2025) | 7234 (2058) | 8284 (2251) | 2029 (1017) |
| Fat intake, % of energy | 29.0 (4.9) | 34.7 (4.6) | 27.5 (5.0) | 34.0 (5.1) | 26.7 (5.5) | 34.2 (5.3) |
| Saturated fat intake, % of energy | 10.1 (2.2) | 12.2 (2.1) | 9.3 (2.1) | 11.9 (2.2) | 8.6 (2.3) | 11.7 (2.4) |
| Polyunsaturated fat intake, % of energy | 4.5 (1.3) | 4.9 (1.2) | 5.1 (1.2) | 5.7 (1.2) | 5.3 (1.4) | 5.9 (1.2) |
| Carbohydrate intake, % of energy | 54.5 (6.6) | 44.8 (6.1) | 56.4 (6.3) | 45.8 (6.4) | 55.6 (7.6) | 43.5 (6.8) |
| Protein intake,% of energy | 16.6 (2.3) | 19.8 (2.9) | 17.0 (2.5) | 20.4 (3.1) | 16.3 (2.4) | 20.0 (3.1) |
| Animal protein intake, % of energy | 11.1 (2.5) | 15.1 (2.9) | 11.0 (2.8) | 15.7 (3.0) | 10.4 (2.6) | 15.3 (3.1) |
| Potassium intake, mg/day | 3583 (930) | 2673 (688) | 3449 (941) | 2449 (708) | 3875 (1060) | 2805 (802) |
| Dietary NEAP, mEq/day | 32.1 (3.5) | 55.7 (6.0) | 36.8 (4.5) | 66.7 (7.3) | 33.8 (4.4) | 62.5 (7.4) |
| Dietary PRAL, mEq/day | −17.4 (8.0) | 8.7 (6.4) | −8.8 (9.1) | 22.0 (7.3) | −12.9 (10.3) | 21.3 (7.2) |
| Dietary A:P | 13.2 (2.2) | 23.5 (3.0) | 14.3 (3.0) | 27.8 (3.8) | 13.2 (2.8) | 26.1 (3.9) |
Values are expressed as means (SD) or %, standardised to the age distribution of the study population and grouped according to quintiles of NEAP (quintile 1, low; quintile 5, high)
aYear represents median follow-up
bValue is not age-adjusted