Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the study population
| Characteristic* | All participants (n = 28,775) | Women (n = 13,401) | Men (n = 15,374) |
| Age, y | 71.6 (4.5) | 72.0 (4.7) | 71.2 (4.2) |
| Postsecondary education, % | 8.4 | 7.7 | 8.9 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 25.4 (3.6) | 25.2 (3.9) | 25.6 (3.3) |
| History of hypertension, % | 32.0 | 29.5 | 34.1 |
| History of hypercholesterolemia, % | 14.9 | 10.2 | 18.9 |
| History of diabetes, % | 8.8 | 7.2 | 10.3 |
| DASH diet score† | 21.6 (4.4) | 21.6 (4.4) | 21.6 (4.3) |
| MED diet score† | 22.5 (4.7) | 22.5 (4.7) | 22.6 (4.6) |
| Coffee consumption, cups/day | 3.0 (1.7) | 2.9 (1.6) | 3.1 (1.8) |
| Alcohol consumption, drinks/week‡ | 5.2 (8.9) | 2.8 (4.7) | 7.1 (10.7) |
| Current smoker, % | 19.4 | 15.9 | 22.4 |
| Walking/bicycling ≥ 40 min/day, % | 40.3 | 38.8 | 41.6 |
| Leisure-time exercise ≥2 h/week, % | 66.8 | 62.2 | 70.5 |
| Sleep duration, h/night | 7.2 (1.2) | 7.1 (1.2) | 7.4 (1.1) |
*Values are means (±standard deviation) if not otherwise indicated. †A measure of an overall healthy diet. The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet score ranges from 7 (minimal adherence) to 35 (maximal adherence). The MED (Mediterranean) diet score ranges from 8 (minimal adherence) to 40 (maximal adherence). ‡Among current drinkers.