Table 2.
Age adjusted characteristics based on eight year changes (1986-1994) in total red meat consumption in Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Values are means (standard deviations) unless stated otherwise
| Characteristics | Decrease in red meat | Reference (change of <0.15 serving/day)‡ | Increase in red meat | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| >0.5 serving/day* | 0.15-0.5 serving/day† | 0.15-0.5 serving/day† | >0.5 serving/day* | ||
| Nurses’ Health Study: | |||||
| No of participants | 17 809 | 13 571 | 12 270 | 6372 | 3531 |
| Initial red meat intake (serving/day) | 1.6 (0.7) | 0.9 (0.5) | 0.6 (0.5) | 0.7 (0.4) | 0.8 (0.5) |
| Age (years) | 59.4 (7.1) | 60.1 (7.1) | 60.6 (7.0) | 60.5 (7.0) | 60.4 (7.2) |
| Initial alcohol intake (g/day) | 6.2 (10.7) | 6.0 (10.1) | 6.1 (10.2) | 6.5 (11.0) | 6.5 (11.7) |
| Change in alcohol intake (g/day) | −1.5 (7.9) | −1.1 (7.4) | −0.9 (7.5) | −0.9 (8.1) | −0.9 (9.0) |
| Initial physical activity (MET hours/week) | 13.0 (18.8) | 14.6 (20.4) | 15.9 (21.8) | 14.0 (19.0) | 13.1 (18.5) |
| Change in physical activity (MET hours/week) | 0.8 (21.1) | 0.2 (20.5) | –0.6 (22.0) | –0.3 (20.0) | –0.4 (19.2) |
| Initial total energy intake (kcal/day) | 1961 (512) | 1713 (488) | 1618 (483) | 1645 (498) | 1731 (509) |
| Change in total energy intake (kcal/day) | −244 (464) | −36 (429) | 65 (426) | 182 (429) | 358 (473) |
| Initial body mass index | 25.4 (4.8) | 25.0 (4.5) | 24.9 (4.5) | 25.3 (4.7) | 25.9 (4.9) |
| Weight change (lb) | 5.7 (14.1) | 6.3 (13.4) | 7.0 (13.6) | 8.3 (14.8) | 9.0 (16.1) |
| Initial AHEI score | 45.9 (9.4) | 48.3 (9.8) | 49.6 (10.3) | 48.3 (10.2) | 47.2 (9.9) |
| Change in AHEI score | 1.2 (8.1) | 0.3 (8.0) | −0.3 (8.0) | −0.5 (8.1) | −0.7 (8.2) |
| Parental history of myocardial infarction before age 65 (%) | 19.1 | 18.7 | 19.0 | 19.1 | 18.4 |
| Hypertension (%) | 36.5 | 34.7 | 35.1 | 36.7 | 38.5 |
| High cholesterol level (%) | 51.7 | 48.9 | 48.2 | 46.1 | 45.7 |
| Type 2 diabetes (%) | 5.7 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 5.5 | 7.4 |
| Current postmenopausal hormone user (%) | 37.1 | 38.1 | 37.5 | 38.3 | 34.8 |
| Current smoker (%) | 20.2 | 18.8 | 17.5 | 21.1 | 23.1 |
| Health Professionals Follow-up Study: | |||||
| No of participants | 7480 | 5878 | 6633 | 4321 | 3604 |
| Initial red meat intake (serving/day) | 1.8 (0.9) | 1.1 (0.6) | 0.7 (0.6) | 0.8 (0.6) | 1.0 (0.7) |
| Age (years) | 59.9 (9.0) | 60.1 (9.0) | 61.1 (9.3) | 60.9 (9.2) | 61.0 (9.3) |
| Initial alcohol intake (g/day) | 12.0 (15.8) | 11.1 (14.7) | 10.4 (14.0) | 12.0 (15.2) | 12.3 (16.2) |
| Change in alcohol intake (g/day) | −0.7 (12.0) | −0.2 (11.1) | 0.1 (10.5) | −0.1 (11.5) | 0.2 (12.7) |
| Initial physical activity (MET hours/week) | 17.3 (18.5) | 19.2 (19.2) | 21.2 (20.7) | 19.7 (19.7) | 17.7 (19.0) |
| Change in physical activity (MET hours/week) | 5.2 (27.0) | 4.5 (26.2) | 4.0 (27.7) | 3.5 (29.3) | 2.9 (27.9) |
| Initial total energy intake (kcal/day) | 2216 (595) | 1961 (566) | 1849 (555) | 1888 (559) | 1974 (587) |
| Change in total energy intake (kcal/day) | −256 (529) | −38 (486) | 45 (477) | 199 (483) | 429 (531) |
| Initial body mass index | 25.6 (3.2) | 25.2 (3.0) | 24.9 (2.9) | 25.3 (3.1) | 25.7 (3.3) |
| Weight change (lb) | 2.5 (11.2) | 3.3 (10.5) | 4.1 (10.2) | 4.8 (10.7) | 5.7 (12.2) |
| Initial AHEI score | 46.9 (9.6) | 49.6 (10.0) | 52.2 (10.5) | 50.5 (10.5) | 48.8 (10.3) |
| Change in AHEI score | 2.4 (9.0) | 0.8 (8.9) | −0.5 (9.0) | −0.6 (9.0) | −1.0 (9.4) |
| Parental history of myocardial infarction before age 65 (%) | 31.9 | 32.7 | 33.6 | 32.2 | 30.6 |
| Hypertension (%) | 26.7 | 26.2 | 25.0 | 26.0 | 27.9 |
| High cholesterol level (%) | 39.3 | 37.1 | 33.9 | 34.1 | 32.8 |
| Type 2 diabetes (%) | 4.6 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 5.1 |
| Current smoker (%) | 9.1 | 7.9 | 6.6 | 8.4 | 10.8 |
AHEI=alternative healthy eating index; MET=metabolic equivalent of task.
1 kcal=4.18 kJ=0.00418 MJ.
Values are standardized to the age distribution of the study population except for age.
*
>3.5 servings/week.
†
1-3.5 servings/week.
‡
<1 serving/week.