Table 1.
Participants’ characteristics according to the tertiles of seaweed intakes at baseline (n = 500)
| Variables | Tertiles of seaweed intakes | p valuea | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tertile 1 | Tertile 2 | Tertile 3 | ||
| Seaweed intakes, g/1000 kcal/day | 1.6 (0.9) | 5.0 (1.4) | 13.1 (6.3) | |
| No. of participants | 167 | 167 | 166 | |
| Sex (women), % | 20.4 | 18.0 | 29.5 | 0.046 |
| Age, years | 44.0 (10.0) | 45.4 (9.6) | 47.6 (10.6) | 0.001 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 23.2 (3.3) | 23.2 (3.9) | 23.0 (3.3) | 0.530 |
| Education (≥college), % | 21.6 | 33.5 | 31.9 | 0.037 |
| Occupation (desk work), % | 46.1 | 43.7 | 48.8 | 0.624 |
| Living status (alone), % | 15.0 | 9.0 | 7.2 | 0.021 |
| Smoking status | ||||
| Current, % | 46.1 | 46.1 | 38.6 | |
| Former, % | 15.6 | 13.2 | 13.9 | |
| Never, % | 38.3 | 40.7 | 47.6 | 0.098 |
| Alcohol intake frequency | ||||
| Every day, % | 31.7 | 25.7 | 27.1 | |
| Sometimes, % | 48.5 | 56.3 | 45.8 | |
| Never, % | 19.8 | 18.0 | 27.1 | 0.120 |
| Physical activity | ||||
| 0, MET hours/week | 24.0 | 22.2 | 24.1 | |
| 0.1–22.9, MET hours/week | 38.9 | 38.3 | 40.4 | |
| ≥ 23, MET hours/week | 37.1 | 39.5 | 35.5 | 0.838 |
| Skipping breakfast, % | 29.3 | 20.4 | 13.9 | 0.001 |
| Metabolic syndrome, % | 18.6 | 14.4 | 18.7 | 0.980 |
| Protein intakes, g/1000 kcal/day | 32.8 | 34.1 | 36.4 | < 0.001 |
| Green leafy vegetables intakes, g/1000 kcal/day | 15.2 (16.4) | 16.5 (13.0) | 24.4 (19.5) | < 0.001 |
| Fish intakes, g/1000 kcal/day | 15.2 (11.8) | 16.2 (9.4) | 19.9 (12.7) | < 0.001 |
| SDS scores | 38.9 (6.6) | 39.0 (6.8) | 37.5 (7.5) | 0.077 |
Data are presented as mean (standard deviation), or percentage
BMI Body mass index, MET Metabolic equivalent, SDS Self-rating depression scale
aDifferences were evaluated using analysis of covariance and chi-squared test for linear trend, as appropriate