Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the study population according to groups of habitual dietary nut intake1
| Total | Non-consumers | Regular Consumers | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participants, n (%) | 119 | 72 (60.5) | 47 (39.5) | – |
| Nut, g/d | 1.9 ± 3.22 | 0.0 ± 0.0 | 4.9 ± 3.3 | <0.001 |
| Energy, kcal/d | 2014 ± 589 | 1804 ± 541 | 2337 ± 511 | <0.001 |
| Alcohol, g/d | 17.3 ± 22.9 | 14.0 ± 18.7 | 22.3 ± 27.7 | 0.054 |
| Demographics | ||||
| Sex, F, n (%) | 57 (47.9) | 36 (50.0) | 21 (44.7) | 0.57 |
| Age, y | 73.0 ± 5.9 | 73.5 ± 6.2 | 72.2 ± 5.2 | 0.23 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 27.5 ± 3.8 | 27.1 ± 3.7 | 27.9 ± 3.8 | 0.27 |
| Physical Activity, n (%) | 0.53 | |||
| Sedentary | 18 (15.1) | 9 (12.5) | 9 (19.1) | |
| Light | 55 (46.2) | 33 (45.8) | 22 (46.8) | |
| Moderate to high | 46 (38.7) | 30 (41.7) | 16 (34.0) | |
| Smoking status, n (%) | 0.18 | |||
| Never | 51 (42.9) | 26 (36.1) | 25 (53.2) | |
| Current | 35 (29.4) | 24 (33.3) | 11 (23.4) | |
| Former | 33 (27.7) | 22 (30.6) | 11 (23.4) | |
| Education (years of school) | 6.0 ± 3.5 | 5.9 ± 3.7 | 6.1 ± 4.2 | 0.84 |
| Disability in ≥1 ADL, n (%) | 6 (5.0) | 6 (8.3) | 0 (0.0) | 0.042 |
| Disability in ≥1 IADL, n (%) | 14 (11.8) | 8 (11.1) | 6 (12.8) | 0.78 |
| Inflammatory markers | ||||
| IL-6, pg/mL | 2.8 (1.9–3.9)3 | 2.4 (1.8–3.8) | 3.0 (2.2–4.9) | 0.11 |
| TNF-α, pg/mL | 4.4 (2.9–5.6) | 4.2 (2.8–5.4) | 4.8 (3.6–5.9) | 0.30 |
| hsCRP, μg/mL | 2.7 (1.5–4.8) | 2.5 (1.4–5.0) | 3.0 (1.5–4.8) | 0.36 |
| IL-1ra, pg/mL | 121.3 (93.4–187.1) | 120.0 (84.7–193.9) | 125.8 (93.8–178.5) | 0.99 |
| Diseases and conditions | ||||
| Renal impairment, n (%) | 67 (57.8) | 43 (61.4) | 24 (52.2) | 0.32 |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 12 (10.1) | 9 (12.5) | 3 (6.4) | 0.28 |
| Cardiovascular disease, n (%) | 26 (21.8) | 12 (16.7) | 14 (29.8) | 0.09 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 62 (52.1) | 38 (52.8) | 24 (51.1) | 0.86 |
| Stroke, n (%) | 11 (9.2) | 7 (9.7) | 4 (8.5) | 0.82 |
| Depressive symptoms, CES-D score ≥16, n (%) | 33 (27.7) | 19 (26.4) | 14 (29.8) | 0.69 |
| Cognitive function | ||||
| Subjects with cognitive decline, n (%) | 38 (31.9) | 28 (38.0) | 10 (21.0) | 0.04 |
| Baseline global cognitive function, MMSE score | 25.7 ± 2.5 | 24.6 ± 4.4 | 25.7 ± 2.7 | 0.87 |
| Global cognitive function change | −0.5 ± 3.4 | −1.1 ± 3.7 | 0.4 ± 2.6 | 0.012 |
1
Descriptive analyses were compared between groups of nut exposure with the use of a Student’s t-test, Mann-Whitney test or Chi-square test as appropriate. No missing participants. ADL, Activities of Daily Living; CES-D, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale; hsCRP, high-sensitivity C-Reactive Protein; IADL, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living; IL-1ra, Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist; IL-6, Interleukin-6; MMSE, Mini-Mental State Examination; TNF-α, Tumors Necrosis Factor-α.
2
Mean ± SD (all such values).
3
Median (IQR) (all such values).