Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of study participants from European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort overall and by sex specific fifths of Food Standards Agency nutrient profiling system (FSAm-NPS) dietary index score. Values are numbers (percentages) unless stated otherwise
| Characteristics | All (n=501 594)* | Fifths of FSAm-NPS dietary index score† | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First (highest nutritional quality) (n=100 318)‡ | Second (n=100 319) | Third (n=100 319) | Fourth (n=100 319) | Fifth (lowest nutritional quality (n=100 319) | ||
| Median (interquartile range) FSAm-NPS dietary index score | 5.95 (4.53-7.39) | 3.29 (2.52-3.79) | 4.84 (4.53-5.13) | 5.95 (5.67-6.22) | 7.07 (6.78-7.39) | 8.66 (8.14-9.44) |
| Men | 146 329 (29.2) | 29 265 (20.0) | 29 266 (20.0) | 29 266 (20.0) | 29 266 (20.0) | 29 266 (20.0) |
| Women | 355 265 (70.8) | 71 053 (20.0) | 71 053 (20.0) | 71 053 (20.0) | 71 053 (20.0) | 71 053 (20.0) |
| Median (interquartile range) age at recruitment (years) | 51.6 (45.3-58.4) | 52.1 (45.4-59.2) | 51.5 (44.9-58.3) | 51.5 (44.8-58.0) | 51.6 (45.4-58.3) | 51.5 (45.7-58.4) |
| Country: | ||||||
| France | 72 980 (14.5) | 2558 (3.51) | 6812 (9.33) | 13 135 (18.0) | 21 795 (29.9) | 28 680 (39.3) |
| Italy | 45 700 (9.11) | 9734 (21.3) | 13 945 (30.5) | 11 143 (24.4) | 7295 (16.0) | 3583 (7.84) |
| Spain | 40 619 (8.10) | 21 587 (53.1) | 8708 (21.4) | 5214 (12.8) | 3098 (7.63) | 2012 (4.95) |
| UK | 80 441 (16.0) | 18 826 (23.4) | 13 661 (17.0) | 13 936 (17.3) | 14 652 (18.2) | 19 366 (24.1) |
| Netherlands | 38 195 (7.61) | 3736 (9.78) | 7725 (20.2) | 10 108 (26.5) | 9999 (26.2) | 6627 (17.3) |
| Greece | 26 651 (5.31) | 10 900 (40.9) | 10 032 (37.6) | 4263 (16.0) | 1206 (4.53) | 250 (0.94) |
| Germany | 52 010 (10.4) | 4729 (9.09) | 7718 (14.8) | 11 107 (21.4) | 13 735 (26.4) | 14 721 (28.3) |
| Sweden | 52 741 (10.5) | 8495 (16.1) | 10 311 (19.5) | 11 043 (20.9) | 10 982 (20.8) | 11 910 (22.6) |
| Denmark | 55 818 (11.1) | 8503 (15.2) | 10 461 (18.7) | 12 297 (22.0) | 13 171 (23.6) | 11 386 (20.4) |
| Norway | 36 439 (7.26) | 11 250 (30.9) | 10 946 (30.0) | 8073 (22.1) | 4386 (12.0) | 1784 (4.90) |
| Median (interquartile range) body mass index§ | 25.3 (22.8-28.2) | 26.0 (23.3-29.1) | 25.5 (23.1-28.5) | 25.2 (22.8-28.0) | 24.8 (22.5-27.6) | 24.7 (22.2-27.5) |
| Median (interquartile range) height (cm)¶ | 166 (160-173) | 164 (158-170) | 165 (159-172) | 166 (160-173) | 167 (161-174) | 167 (161-174) |
| Educational level**: | ||||||
| None or primary school | 149 580 (31.0) | 40 566 (27.1) | 33 650 (22.5) | 27 778 (18.6) | 23 976 (16.0) | 23 610 (15.8) |
| Technical, professional, or secondary school | 214 154 (44.3) | 35 580 (16.6) | 41 742 (19.5) | 44 933 (21.0) | 46 072 (21.5) | 45 827 (21.4) |
| Longer education (including university degree) | 119 477 (24.7) | 20 301 (17.0) | 21 935 (18.4) | 24 473 (20.5) | 26 653 (22.3) | 26 115 (21.9) |
| Physical activity††: | ||||||
| Inactive | 76 414 (15.2) | 12 349 (16.2) | 13 864 (18.1) | 15 532 (20.3) | 16 969 (22.2) | 17 700 (23.2) |
| Moderately inactive | 159 880 (31.9) | 26 205 (16.4) | 27 882 (17.4) | 30 765 (19.2) | 35 200 (22.0) | 39 828 (24.9) |
| Moderately active | 185 968 (37.1) | 44 635 (24.0) | 40 824 (22.0) | 36 879 (19.8) | 33 180 (17.8) | 30 450 (16.4) |
| Active | 44 932 (8.96) | 9819 (21.8) | 9429 (21.0) | 9178 (20.4) | 8541 (19.0) | 7965 (17.7) |
| Smoking status‡‡: | ||||||
| Non-smoker | 244 929 (48.8) | 51 476 (21.0) | 48 552 (19.8) | 47 992 (19.6) | 48 625 (19.8) | 48 284 (19.7) |
| Former smoker | 134 382 (26.8) | 27 306 (20.3) | 27 400 (20.4) | 27 459 (20.4) | 26 815 (19.9) | 25 402 (18.9) |
| Current smoker | 111 938 (22.3) | 19 756 (17.6) | 22 405 (20.0) | 22 851 (20.4) | 22 817 (20.4) | 24 109 (21.5) |
| Median (interquartile range) alcohol intake (g/d) | 5.29 (0.93-14.8) | 2.86 (0.35-11.8) | 4.56 (0.82-13.2) | 5.56 (1.08-15.0) | 6.64 (1.46-16.4) | 6.81 (1.49-17.0) |
| Median (interquartile range) energy (kcal/d) | 1992 (1628-2430) | 1745 (1432-2144) | 1899 (1568-2310) | 1984 (1645-2393) | 2092 (1736-2502) | 2253 (1863-2703) |
| Median (interquartile range) total dietary fibre (g/d) | 21.8 (17.4-27.0) | 24.2 (19.3-30.4) | 22.4 (18.1-27.5) | 21.7 (17.4-26.6) | 21.1 (16.9-25.9) | 19.9 (15.7-24.5) |
| Median (interquartile range) vegetables (g/d) | 175.4 (110.0-276.3) | 218.6 (133.6-339.7) | 183.2 (115.3-292.1) | 166.2 (107.0-260.4) | 160.6 (104.0-249.3) | 157.2 (98.4-243.5) |
| Median (interquartile range) fruit, nuts, and seeds (g/d) | 200.5 (111.7-321.6) | 287.1 (173.5-434.6) | 234.1 (132.1-354.5) | 194.9 (111.6-308.1) | 171.9 (98.8-273.2) | 143.6 (80.1-234.0) |
| Median (interquartile range) dairy products (g/d) | 278.1 (161.3-445.9) | 269.8 (146.5-448.7) | 284.5 (164.5-463.6) | 294.9 (173.6-465.4) | 284.1 (168.2-445.5) | 258.3 (153.0-400.0) |
| Median (interquartile range) fish and shellfish (g/d) | 28.0 (13.8-49.7) | 32.9 (15.1-63.6) | 28.6 (14.4-53.0) | 27.3 (13.6-48.9) | 26.5 (13.2-44.8) | 25.5 (12.8-42.3) |
| Median (interquartile range) red meat (g/d) | 34.5 (16.1-62.7) | 26.1 (10.1-49.9) | 34.2 (16.6-60.3) | 37.3 (18.0-65.9) | 40.1 (19.0-69.0) | 36.6 (17.1-65.9) |
| Median (interquartile range) processed meat (g/d) | 24.3 (10.6-43.9) | 13.0 (3.22-27.4) | 19.9 (7.74-36.5) | 25.6 (12.5-44) | 30.5 (16.1-50.9) | 35.6 (18.5-59.9) |
| History of cancer | 24 155 (4.82) | 4359 (18.0) | 4456 (18.4) | 4708 (19.5) | 5204 (21.5) | 5428 (22.5) |
| History of cardiovascular diseases§§ | 97 370 (19.4) | 22 211 (22.8) | 19 915 (20.4) | 18 997 (19.5) | 18 645 (19.2) | 17 602 (18.1) |
| History of diabetes¶¶ | 13 311 (2.65) | 5258 (39.5) | 2853 (21.4) | 2017 (15.1) | 1692 (12.7) | 1491 (11.2) |
*
Column percentages.
†
Cut-offs for sex specific fifths of FSAm-NPS dietary index were 4.14, 5.35, 6.43, and 7.68 for women and 4.32, 5.55, 6.63, and 7.88 for men. A higher score indicates a lower nutritional quality of foods consumed.
‡
Row percentages.
§
Missing for 91 412 (18.2%).
¶
Missing for 90 258 (18.0%).
**
Missing for 18 383 (3.7%).
††
Missing for 34 400 (6.9%).
‡‡
Missing for 10 345 (2.1%).
§§
Missing for 78 400 (15.6%).
¶¶
Missing for 39 892 (7.9%).