TABLE 1.
Baseline characteristics of participants by thirds of adherence to the Mediterranean diet: the Fenland Study, 2005–20151
| Adherence to the Mediterranean diet | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline characteristics | Tertile 1 (3.3–8.4 points) (n = 3657) | Tertile 2 (8.4–9.7 points) (n = 3615) | Tertile 3 (9.7–14.0 points) (n = 3534) |
| Age, y | 48.2 ± 7.3 | 48.4 ± 7.5 | 48.3 ± 7.6 |
| Test site | |||
| Cambridge | 24.3 | 34.0 | 47.8 |
| Ely | 37.3 | 38.8 | 34.6 |
| Wisbech | 38.4 | 27.2 | 17.6 |
| Sex, women | 40.3 | 54.9 | 65.5 |
| Education level2 | |||
| Compulsory | 28.8 | 20.1 | 12.0 |
| Further | 52.4 | 46.7 | 39.1 |
| Higher | 18.8 | 33.2 | 48.9 |
| Occupation3 | |||
| Routine/tech/others | 55.4 | 40.2 | 29.1 |
| Managerial/professional | 44.6 | 59.8 | 70.9 |
| Household income | |||
| ≤£25,000 | 43.7 | 32.6 | 26.3 |
| £25,001–44,775 | 31.2 | 35.7 | 34.7 |
| ≥£44,776 | 25.1 | 31.7 | 39.0 |
| Smoking | |||
| Never | 52.6 | 54.4 | 56.0 |
| Former | 28.5 | 35.0 | 36.0 |
| Current | 18.9 | 10.6 | 8.0 |
| Energy expenditure, kJ · kg–1 · d–1 | 55.2 ± 23.4 | 52.6 ± 21.4 | 54.1 ± 21.3 |
| Medication use | 42.6 | 43.4 | 40.6 |
| Family history of diabetes | 20.2 | 22.2 | 19.0 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 27.7 ± 4.8 | 27.0 ± 4.9 | 25.9 ± 4.5 |
| Waist circumference, cm | 94.5 ± 13.4 | 90.9 ± 13.5 | 87.1 ± 12.8 |
| Fasting insulin, pmol/L | 53.9 ± 40.0 | 47.3 ± 31.7 | 41.6 ± 37.5 |
| Fasting glucose, mmol/L | 4.9 ± 0.8 | 4.8 ± 0.6 | 4.8 ± 0.6 |
| 2-h glucose, mmol/L | 5.4 ± 1.8 | 5.3 ± 1.7 | 5.1 ± 1.6 |
| HOMA-IR | 12.3 ± 10.9 | 10.6 ± 8.2 | 9.2 ± 9.5 |
| Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg | 125.1 ± 15.3 | 122.9 ± 15.1 | 120.4 ± 15.2 |
| Diastolic blood pressure, mm Hg | 76.2 ± 10.3 | 74.6 ± 10.0 | 72.9 ± 9.9 |
| Total cholesterol, mmol/L | 5.5 ± 1.0 | 5.4 ± 1.0 | 5.4 ± 1.0 |
| HDL-C, mmol/L | 1.4 ± 0.4 | 1.5 ± 0.4 | 1.6 ± 0.4 |
| LDL-C, mmol/L | 3.5 ± 0.9 | 3.4 ± 0.9 | 3.3 ± 0.9 |
| Cholesterol:HDL-C ratio | 4.1 ± 1.3 | 3.8 ± 1.2 | 3.5 ± 1.1 |
| Triglycerides, mmol/L | 1.3 ± 0.9 | 1.2 ± 0.8 | 1.0 ± 0.7 |
| Energy intake, kcal/d | 2123.2 ± 739.5 | 1925.0 ± 655.8 | 1860.7 ± 603.6 |
Total n = 10,806. Values are means ± SDs or percentages. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet among 10,806 participants recruited at baseline in 2005–2015 in the Fenland Study, using the dietary score derived from the Mediterranean dietary pyramid (see the Methods for details; possible range: 0–15). HDL-C, HDL cholesterol; LDL-C, LDL cholesterol.
For education, compulsory included “school leaving certificate,” “CSE,” and “GCE O level or GCSE”; further included “matriculation,” “GCE A level, AS level, highers,” “technical college exams, city & guilds,” “HND GNVQ,” “completed apprenticeship,” “secretarial college exams,” “teaching diploma, HNC, NVQ,” and “trade certificates”; higher included “university degree.”
For occupation, routine/tech/others included clerical, technical, semiroutine, and routine jobs; managerial/professional included modern professional, senior manager, middle management, and traditional professional jobs.