Table 2.
Characteristics of life‐time hazardous drinking groups, Whitehall II study 2011–12.
| Never hazardous drinker | Former early hazardous drinker | Former later hazardous drinker | Current hazardous drinker | Consistent hazardous drinker | Total | P‐value | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | N | % | ||
| All | 2110 | 44 | 932 | 19 | 539 | 11 | 1009 | 21 | 230 | 5 | 4820 | 100 | |
| Sex | |||||||||||||
| Male | 1347 | 64 | 753 | 81 | 439 | 81 | 838 | 83 | 221 | 96 | 3598 | 75 | |
| Female | 763 | 36 | 179 | 19 | 100 | 19 | 171 | 17 | 9 | 4 | 1222 | 25 | P < 0.001 |
| Occupational grade | |||||||||||||
| High | 929 | 44 | 496 | 53 | 303 | 56 | 618 | 61 | 141 | 61 | 2487 | 52 | |
| Medium | 940 | 45 | 388 | 42 | 213 | 40 | 354 | 35 | 84 | 37 | 1979 | 41 | |
| Low | 241 | 11 | 48 | 5 | 23 | 4 | 37 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 354 | 7 | P < 0.001 |
| Ethnicity | |||||||||||||
| White | 1943 | 92 | 914 | 98 | 520 | 96 | 980 | 97 | 228 | 99 | 4585 | 95 | |
| Non‐white | 167 | 8 | 18 | 2 | 19 | 4 | 29 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 235 | 5 | P < 0.001 |
| Smoking status | |||||||||||||
| Never smoker | 1189 | 56 | 400 | 43 | 201 | 37 | 336 | 33 | 46 | 20 | 2172 | 45 | |
| Ex‐smoker | 873 | 41 | 500 | 54 | 317 | 59 | 630 | 62 | 168 | 73 | 2488 | 52 | |
| Current smoker | 48 | 2 | 32 | 3 | 21 | 4 | 43 | 4 | 16 | 7 | 160 | 3 | P < 0.001 |
| Physical activity | |||||||||||||
| < recommendations | 1483 | 70 | 634 | 68 | 363 | 67 | 673 | 67 | 141 | 61 | 3294 | 68 | |
| > = recommendations | 627 | 30 | 298 | 32 | 176 | 33 | 336 | 33 | 89 | 39 | 1526 | 32 | 0.033 |
| Fruit and vegetable consumption | |||||||||||||
| Seldom: 3–4 times a week | 430 | 20 | 192 | 21 | 93 | 17 | 227 | 22 | 50 | 22 | 992 | 21 | |
| Daily | 442 | 21 | 170 | 18 | 117 | 22 | 210 | 21 | 45 | 20 | 984 | 20 | |
| 4 or more a day | 1238 | 59 | 570 | 61 | 329 | 61 | 572 | 57 | 135 | 59 | 2844 | 59 | 0.264 |
| Previous CVD or diabetes | 369 | 17 | 151 | 16 | 100 | 19 | 136 | 13 | 31 | 13 | 787 | 16 | 0.022 |
| Mean (SE) | N | ||||||||||||
| Age (years) | 70.6 | (5.87) | 67.9 | (5.51) | 70 | (5.50) | 68.8 | (5.47) | 66.2 | (4.06) | 69.4 | (0.46) | 4820 |
| Triglycerides (mmol/l) | 1.2 | (0.55) | 1.2 | (0.67) | 1.2 | (0.64) | 1.2 | (0.74) | 1.3 | (0.74) | 70.4 | (0.97) | 4673 |
| HDL cholesterol (mmol/l) | 1.7 | (0.46) | 1.5 | (0.42) | 1.7 | (0.49) | 1.7 | (0.49) | 1.6 | (0.40) | 1.7 | (0.46) | 4674 |
| LDL cholesterol (mmol/l) | 2.9 | (0.99) | 2.9 | (0.96) | 2.8 | (0.96) | 2.9 | (0.96) | 2.9 | (0.97) | 2.9 | (0.97) | 4662 |
| Systolic bp (mmHg) | 127.3 | (16.55) | 126 | (15.86) | 128 | (16.47) | 130 | (15.97) | 129.6 | (14.82) | 128 | (16.26) | 4816 |
| Diastolic bp (mmHg) | 70.2 | (9.62) | 70.3 | (9.79) | 71 | (10.12) | 72.4 | (10.16) | 72.9 | (9.35) | 70.9 | (9.86) | 4816 |
| Waist (cm) | 94.5 | (12.34) | 96.8 | (12.23) | 98 | (12.03) | 98.2 | (11.97) | 100.5 | (11.34) | 96.4 | (12.29) | 4819 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 26.4 | (4.53) | 26.7 | (4.49) | 27 | (4.15) | 26.9 | (4.15) | 27.5 | (3.92) | 26.7 | (4.38) | 4820 |
| HbA1c (mmol) | 5.9 | (0.65) | 5.8 | (0.64) | 5.9 | (0.74) | 5.7 | (0.50) | 5.8 | (0.52) | 5.8 | (0.62) | 4659 |
| eGFR (ml/min/1.73 m2) | 77.5 | (16.96) | 78.8 | (15.87) | 79 | (16.87) | 81.6 | (16.72) | 82.3 | (16.70) | 79 | (16.76) | 4674 |
CVD = cardiovascular disease; HDL = high‐density lipoprotein; LDL = low‐density lipoprotein; BMI = body mass index; eGFR = estimated glomerular filtration rate; SE = standard error; bp = blood pressure; HbA1c = glycated haemoglobin.