Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of participants by baseline frequency of soy consumptiona
| Never or rarely (n = 36,009) | Monthly (n = 90,639) | 1–3 days/week (n = 146,289) | ≥ 4 days/week (n = 27,915) | Overall (n = 300,852) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in years, mean (SD) | 51.7 (10.6) | 51.1 (10.5) | 50.6 (10.4) | 51.2 (10.5) | 50.9 (10.5) |
| Urban (%) | 26.5 | 32.6 | 55.1 | 50.4 | 44.5 |
| Education > 6 years (%) | 36.6 | 39.8 | 45.8 | 52.7 | 43.3 |
| Household income > 20,000 yuan/year (%) | 31.2 | 37.2 | 42.3 | 47.9 | 40.7 |
| Never smoker (%) | 94.2 | 94.7 | 95.3 | 95.2 | 94.9 |
| Weekly alcohol consumption (%) | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
| Adult attained height in cm, mean (SD) | 153.6 (6.1) | 153.9 (6.0) | 154.3 (5.9) | 154.8 (5.8) | 154.1 (6.0) |
| BMI in kg/m2, mean (SD) | 23.7 (3.6) | 23.7 (3.4) | 23.9 (3.4) | 23.9 (3.5) | 23.8 (3.5) |
| Physical activity in MET-hour/day, mean (SD) | 20.3 (12.0) | 20.4 (12.5) | 20.5 (12.9) | 20.5 (13.4) | 20.5 (12.8) |
| Age at menarche in years, mean (SD) | 15.6 (2.1) | 15.5 (2.0) | 15.4 (1.9) | 15.3 (1.9) | 15.4 (2.0) |
| Parity, mean (SD) | 2.3 (1.5) | 2.3 (1.5) | 2.2 (1.3) | 2.1 (1.2) | 2.2 (1.4) |
| Months of breast-feeding per child, mean (SD) | 14.5 (9.0) | 14.6 (8.1) | 14.4 (7.0) | 14.1 (6.8) | 14.5 (7.8) |
| Post-menopause at baseline (%) | 52.6 | 52.5 | 52.2 | 52.3 | 52.4 |
| Ever use of oral contraceptives (%) | 9.1 | 9.6 | 10.1 | 9.5 | 9.8 |
| Family history of cancer (%) | 16.3 | 16.5 | 16.6 | 17.7 | 16.6 |
| Regular consumption of foodsb | |||||
| Fresh fruit | 23.7 | 25.6 | 34.5 | 44.9 | 31.7 |
| Fresh vegetables | 97.7 | 97.8 | 99.0 | 99.2 | 98.3 |
| Preserved vegetables | 24.9 | 21.8 | 22.6 | 25.4 | 22.8 |
| Red meat | 36.6 | 40.1 | 45.9 | 51.6 | 44.1 |
| Poultry | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 1.0 |
| Fish | 6.2 | 7.9 | 8.5 | 12.9 | 8.5 |
| Dairy | 8.5 | 9.2 | 13.3 | 19.7 | 12.5 |
| Total energy intake in kcal/day, median | 1078.6 | 1139.3 | 1256.6 | 1280.1 | 1231.8 |
aValues for all variable except age, urban and total energy intake were standardized for age and region
bParticipants eating foods for at least 4 days per week were regarded as regular consumers