Table 1.
Baseline characteristics a of participants without diabetes by alcohol consumption groups, the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study, 1987–1989
| Never drinkers (n=2802) | Former drinkers (n=2116) | ≤1 drink/week (n=2899) | 2–7 drinks/week (n=2508) | 8–14 drinks/week (n=986) | >14 drinks/week (n=731) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcoholic drinks per week, P25-P75 | - | - | 0–0 | 2–6 | 9–12 | 17–28 | |
| Age in years, mean (SD) | 54.4 (5.7) | 54.5 (5.7) | 53.6 (5.8) | 53.6 (5.7) | 53.8 (5.7) | 54.0 (5.7) | |
| Women (%) | 76.0 | 46.8 | 64.6 | 47.7 | 33.4 | 15.5 | |
| Race/center (%) | Whites, Forsyth Co. | 27.6 | 21.0 | 26.7 | 20.7 | 22.1 | 22.3 |
| Whites, Minneapolis | 4.7 | 18.7 | 37.8 | 42.1 | 40.6 | 34.3 | |
| Whites, Washington Co. | 26.7 | 32.2 | 26.8 | 21.6 | 24.7 | 25.7 | |
| Blacks, Forsyth Co. | 2.5 | 4.7 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 3.3 | |
| Blacks, Jackson | 38.5 | 23.3 | 6.1 | 13.4 | 11.1 | 14.4 | |
| Black (%) | 41.0 | 27.9 | 8.6 | 15.6 | 12.6 | 17.6 | |
| Total energy intake in kcal/day, mean (SD) | 1573.1 (682.5) | 1691.7 (769.2) | 1586.6 (642.1) | 1627.6 (654.5) | 1691.8 (633.0) | 1929.1 (772.8) | |
| Blood glucose level in mg/dL, mean (SD) | 97.7 (9.4) | 98.9 (9.4) | 97.7 (8.7) | 99.0 (8.9) | 100.3 (9.2) | 101.4 (10.3) | |
| HDL in mg/dl, mean (SD) | 53.6 (16.4) | 48.0 (14.9) | 51.5 (16.2) | 53.8 (18.2) | 56.0 (20.4) | 54.4 (18.3) | |
| Total cholesterol in mmol/l, mean (SD) | 5.6 (1.1) | 5.5 (1.1) | 5.5 (1.1) | 5.5 (1.0) | 5.6 (1.0) | 5.6 (1.1) | |
| Parental history of diabetes (%) | 25.4 | 23.3 | 21.3 | 21.1 | 20.3 | 20.8 | |
| Hypertension (%) | 37.4 | 34.3 | 24.9 | 26.2 | 28.9 | 35.4 | |
| Coronary heart disease (%) | 2.2 | 6.9 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 5.0 | 5.1 | |
| Body mass index in kg/(m2), mean (SD) | 28.2 (5.7) | 27.8 (5.6) | 26.9 (4.8) | 26.5 (4.3) | 26.2 (4.2) | 26.7 (4.4) | |
| Sport index, mean (SD) | 2.3 (0.7) | 2.4 (0.8) | 2.5 (0.8) | 2.6 (0.8) | 2.7 (0.8) | 2.5 (0.8) | |
| Smoking status (%) | Never | 69.9 | 28.9 | 44.8 | 32.2 | 22.0 | 12.2 |
| Former | 15.5 | 41.6 | 31.4 | 39.8 | 43.5 | 41.7 | |
| Current | 14.6 | 29.5 | 23.9 | 28.0 | 34.5 | 46.1 | |
| Waist-to-hip ratio, mean (SD) | 0.9 (0.1) | 0.9 (0.1) | 0.9 (0.1) | 0.9 (0.1) | 0.9 (0.1) | 1.0 (0.1) | |
| Family income (%) | Under $25,000 | 50.3 | 47.7 | 25.1 | 22.7 | 21.5 | 29.4 |
| $25,000-$49,999 | 36.0 | 36.1 | 42.7 | 40.2 | 36.3 | 39.0 | |
| Over $50,000 | 13.7 | 16.3 | 32.3 | 37.0 | 42.2 | 31.6 | |
| Education level (%) | Less than high school | 28.8 | 34.3 | 13.0 | 12.6 | 15.1 | 17.6 |
| High school degree or vocational school | 42.3 | 39.0 | 45.6 | 41.5 | 37.5 | 40.6 | |
| At least some college or professional school | 28.9 | 26.7 | 41.4 | 45.9 | 47.4 | 41.7 | |
a
Estimates are percent or mean (SD).