Table 1.
Population characteristics of participants in the Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study in Boston, MA, 1999–2013 a.
| Variable | All Visits | First Visit | Second Visit | Third Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of measures | 1214 | 692 | 418 | 104 |
| Chronological age (years) | 74.3 (7.0) | 72.7 (6.7) | 76.3 (6.8) | 79.8 (6.0) |
| DNAmPhenoAge (years) | 70.5 (12.9) | 68.4 (11.9) | 70.6 (12.2) | 83.6 (13.9) |
| Smoking status | ||||
| Never smoker | 374 (31%) | 207 (30%) | 131 (31%) | 36 (35%) |
| Current smoker | 46 (4%) | 29 (4%) | 15 (4%) | 2 (2%) |
| Former smoker | 794 (65%) | 456 (66%) | 272 (65%) | 66 (63%) |
| Total years of smoking cigarettes (years) | 16.7 (15.8) | 16.9 (15.7) | 16.4 (15.9) | 11.3 (15.5) |
| Alcohol consumption (g/d) | ||||
| Abstainer | 230 (24%) | 146 (24%) | 81 (25%) | 3 (25%) |
| Low (0–40 g/d) | 652 (69%) | 420 (69%) | 223 (70%) | 9 (75%) |
| Intermediate (40–60 g/d) | 37 (4%) | 26 (4%) | 11 (3%) | 0 |
| High (≥60 g/d) | 23(2%) | 18 (3%) | 5 (2%) | 0 |
| Physical activity (MET-hours/week) | ||||
| Low(≤12 kcal/kg hours/week) | 667 (64%) | 408 (63%) | 240 (65%) | 19 (58%) |
| Median (12–30 kcal/kg hours/week) | 227 (22%) | 139 (22%) | 83 (23%) | 5 (15%) |
| High (≥30 kcal/kg hours/week) | 152 (15%) | 98 (15%) | 45 (12%) | 9 (27%) |
| Years of education | ||||
| ≤12 years | 335 (33%) | 215 (33%) | 115 (33%) | 5 (42%) |
| 13–16 years | 477 (47%) | 314 (48%) | 159 (46%) | 4 (33%) |
| >16 years | 209 (20%) | 131 (20%) | 75 (21%) | 3 (25%) |
| Body mass index | ||||
| Underweight or normal weight (<25.0) | 265 (22%) | 139 (20%) | 94 (22%) | 32 (31%) |
| Overweight (≥25.0 to <30.0) | 636 (52%) | 374 (54%) | 214 (51%) | 48 (46%) |
| Obese (≥30.0) | 313 (26%) | 179 (26%) | 110 (26%) | 24 (23%) |
| Chronic diseases | ||||
| Hypertension | 731 (71%) | 464 (70%) | 258 (73%) | 9 (75%) |
| Stroke | 99 (8%) | 53 (8%) | 39 (9%) | 7 (7%) |
| Coronary heart disease | 397 (33%) | 208 (30%) | 146 (35%) | 43 (41%) |
| Diabetes | 193(16%) | 99 (14%) | 73 (17%) | 21 (20%) |
a Mean value (standard deviation) for continuous variables and n (%) for categorical variables.