Table 2.
Baseline characteristics according to tertile of years of education in the observational studies
| Tertile 1 (7 years) | Tertile 2 (10–15 years) | Tertile 3 (19–20 years) | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | 58 077 | 119 831 | 162 597 | |
| Age, years | 61.4±6.1 | 56.7±8.0 | 55.3±8.0 | <0.001 |
| Sex, female | 31 530 (54.3) | 73 229 (61.1) | 79 005 (48.6) | <0.001 |
| BMI, kg/cm2 | 28.4±4.9 | 27.4±4.8 | 27.0±4.6 | <0.001 |
| Total amount of alcohol intake, g/week | 109.5±155.3 | 115.6±144.7 | 128.0±140.6 | <0.001 |
| Red wine, glasses* | 2.7±4.8 | 3.8±5.6 | 4.4±5.8 | <0.001 |
| White wine/champagne, glasses* | 1.9±4.1 | 2.8±4.8 | 2.9±4.8 | <0.001 |
| Fortified, glasses† | 0.3±1.6 | 0.2±1.3 | 0.2±1.2 | <0.001 |
| Beer/cider, pints | 4.4±7.0 | 2.8±5.5 | 2.7±4.9 | <0.001 |
| Spirits, measures‡ | 2.7±7.0 | 1.9±5.3 | 1.6±4.6 | <0.001 |
| Alcohol intake frequency, n (%) | <0.001 | |||
| Daily or almost daily | 8 910 (15.4) | 24 306 (20.3) | 40 023 (24.6) | |
| Three or four times a week | 10 669 (18.4) | 27 943 (23.3) | 43 782 (26.9) | |
| Once or twice a week | 16 433 (28.3) | 32 158 (26.9) | 40 811 (25.1) | |
| One to three times a month | 6 614 (11.4) | 14 491 (12.1) | 16 607 (10.2) | |
| Special occasions only | 9 081 (15.7) | 13 194 (11.0) | 13 272 (8.2) | |
| Never | 6 300 (10.9) | 7 687 (6.4) | 8 025 (4.9) | |
| Alcohol taken with meals, n (%) | 13 710 (48.6) | 41 017 (68.2) | 63 912 (74.2) | <0.001 |
| Smoking, n (%) | <0.001 | |||
| Never | 25 265 (43.8) | 65 962 (55.2) | 94 502 (58.2) | |
| Previous | 24 035 (41.7) | 41 650 (34.8) | 53 956 (33.3) | |
| Current | 8 332 (14.5) | 11 937 (10.0) | 13 792 (8.5) | |
| Townsend deprivation index§ | −0.6±3.3 | −1.8±2.8 | −1.8±2.8 | <0.001 |
| Job class, n (%) | <0.001 | |||
| Managers and Senior Officials | 2 608 (10.7) | 12 548 (17.2) | 21 501 (19.1) | |
| Professional | 452 (1.9) | 7 959 (10.9) | 41 638 (36.9) | |
| Associate Professional and Technical | 1 445 (5.9) | 14 715 (20.2) | 19 218 (17) | |
| Administrative and Secretarial | 4 283 (17.6) | 18 720 (25.7) | 10 894 (9.7) | |
| Skilled Trades | 3 770 (15.5) | 4 958 (6.8) | 6 999 (6.2) | |
| Personal Service | 1 981 (8.1) | 4 338 (6.0) | 5 799 (5.1) | |
| Sales and Customer Service | 2 385 (9.8) | 3 173 (4.4) | 1 737 (1.5) | |
| Process, Plant and Machine Operatives | 3 312 (13.6) | 3 108 (4.3) | 2 847 (2.5) | |
| Elementary | 4 120 (16.9) | 3 391 (4.7) | 2 235 (2.0) | |
| Income, n (%) | <0.001 | |||
| <£18 000 | 23 383 (53.4) | 22 078 (21.5) | 18 654 (12.5) | |
| £18 000 to £30 999 | 12 480 (28.5) | 30 688 (29.8) | 32 657 (21.9) | |
| £31 000 to £51 999 | 5 827 (13.3) | 29 073 (28.3) | 43 491 (29.2) | |
| £52 000 to £100 000 | 1 834 (4.2) | 17 782 (17.3) | 41 740 (28.0) | |
| >£100 000 | 288 (0.7) | 3286 (3.2) | 12 298 (8.3) |
*
6 glasses in an average bottle
†
12 glasses in an average bottle
‡
25 standard measures in a normal size bottle; spirits include drinks such as whisky, gin, rum, vodka, and brandy
§
Negative values will indicate relative affluence