Table 1.
Descriptive characteristics of the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study based on quintiles of alternative Mediterranean Diet Index (aMED) scores
| Quintile 1 | Quintile 2 | Quintile 3 | Quintile 4 | Quintile 5 | p-val | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Range of Index Scores | 0-2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6-9 | |
| N | 102099 | 97566 | 112578 | 105761 | 130841 | |
| PM2.5 (SD) | 12.3 (2.8) | 12.3 (2.9) | 12.4 (2.9) | 12.4 (2.9) | 12.3 (3.0) | 0.88 |
| NO2 (SD) | 12.9 (6.5) | 13.0 (6.6) | 13.1 (6.6) | 13.2 (6.7) | 13.3 (6.7) | 0.88 |
| Entry Age (SD) | 61.5 (5.5) | 61.9 (5.4) | 62.2 (5.3) | 62.4 (5.3) | 62.7 (5.2) | 0.54 |
| Sex (%) | 0.95 | |||||
| Male | 61532 (60.3%) | 55776 (57.2%) | 64364 (57.2%) | 61307 (58%) | 81139 (62%) | |
| Female | 40567 (39.7%) | 41790 (42.8%) | 48214 (42.8%) | 44454 (42%) | 49702 (38%) | |
| Race (%) | 0.99 | |||||
| White | 93825 (91.9%) | 88662 (90.9%) | 101675 (90.3%) | 95904 (90.7%) | 120505 (92.1%) | |
| Black | 3964 (3.9%) | 4029 (4.1%) | 4876 (4.3%) | 4330 (4.1%) | 4383 (3.3%) | |
| Hispanic | 1695 (1.7%) | 1933 (2%) | 2307 (2%) | 2088 (2%) | 2174 (1.7%) | |
| Asian/Pacific Islander/Native American | 1176 (1.2%) | 1492 (1.5%) | 2009 (1.8%) | 1956 (1.8%) | 2246 (1.7%) | |
| Education (%) | 0.60 | |||||
| Less than high school | 8981 (8.8%) | 7112 (7.3%) | 7130 (6.3%) | 5356 (5.1%) | 4676 (3.6%) | |
| Some high school | 26079 (25.5%) | 21940 (22.5%) | 22704 (20.2%) | 18769 (17.7%) | 17885 (13.7%) | |
| 12 years or high school completed | 11425 (11.2%) | 10310 (10.6%) | 11265 (10%) | 9903 (9.4%) | 10845 (8.3%) | |
| Post-high school or some college | 23437 (23%) | 22787 (23.4%) | 26320 (23.4%) | 24706 (23.4%) | 29910 (22.9%) | |
| College and post graduate | 28845 (28.3%) | 32197 (33%) | 41568 (36.9%) | 43831 (41.4%) | 64304 (49.1%) | |
| BMI (%) | 0.98 | |||||
| <18.5 | 1045 (1%) | 811 (0.8%) | 890 (0.8%) | 839 (0.8%) | 1068 (0.8%) | |
| 18.5-25 | 30068 (29.4%) | 30182 (30.9%) | 36022 (32%) | 36347 (34.4%) | 51775 (39.6%) | |
| 25-30 | 41501 (40.6%) | 39890 (40.9%) | 46961 (41.7%) | 44343 (41.9%) | 54159 (41.4%) | |
| 30-35 | 18029 (17.7%) | 16463 (16.9%) | 18223 (16.2%) | 15701 (14.8%) | 15874 (12.1%) | |
| >35 | 8396 (8.2%) | 7344 (7.5%) | 7440 (6.6%) | 5775 (5.5%) | 4904 (3.7%) | |
| Marital (%) | 0.99 | |||||
| Married | 68928 (67.5%) | 65228 (66.9%) | 75627 (67.2%) | 71929 (68%) | 91864 (70.2%) | |
| Never Married | 27197 (26.6%) | 26565 (27.2%) | 30325 (26.9%) | 27810 (26.3%) | 32166 (24.6%) | |
| Other | 5065 (5%) | 4824 (4.9%) | 5564 (4.9%) | 5125 (4.8%) | 5995 (4.6%) | |
| Smoking (%) | 0.33 | |||||
| Never | 30107 (29.5%) | 32807 (33.6%) | 40077 (35.6%) | 38871 (36.8%) | 49177 (37.6%) | |
| former smoker of <=1 pack/day | 21436 (21%) | 23880 (24.5%) | 29804 (26.5%) | 30031 (28.4%) | 40750 (31.1%) | |
| former smoker of >1 pack/day | 21943 (21.5%) | 20071 (20.6%) | 23409 (20.8%) | 22222 (21.0%) | 27687 (21.2%) | |
| current smoker of <=1 pack/day | 13927 (13.6%) | 10729 (11%) | 10079 (9%) | 7570 (7.2%) | 6538 (5%) | |
| current smoker of >1 pack/day | 10669 (10.4%) | 6194 (6.3%) | 4789 (4.3%) | 3008 (2.8%) | 2108 (1.6%) |