Table 1.
Characteristics of participants, stratified by CRC
| Characteristic | Participants without CRC (n=9,405) | Participants with CRC (n=737) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|||
| n | (%) | n | (%) | |
| Age in years, mean (SD) | 67 | (6.66) | 66 | (6.57)* |
| Education | ||||
| ≤ High school | 3,409 | (36.2) | 220 | (29.9)* |
| > High school | 5,996 | (63.8) | 517 | (70.1) |
| Marital status | ||||
| Currently not married | 3,649 | (38.8) | 288 | (39.1) |
| Currently married | 5,756 | (61.2) | 449 | (60.9) |
| Family income | ||||
| < $35,000 | 4,253 | (45.2) | 315 | (42.7) |
| ≥ $35,000 | 5,152 | (54.8) | 422 | (57.3) |
| Employment | ||||
| Currently employed (full- or part-time) | 6,900 | (73.4) | 523 | (71.0) |
| Currently not employed | 2,505 | (26.6) | 214 | (29.0) |
| Cardiovascular disease ever | ||||
| No | 7,995 | (85.0) | 610 | (82.8) |
| Yes | 1,410 | (15.0) | 127 | (17.2) |
| Hypertension ever | ||||
| No | 6,506 | (69.2) | 487 | (66.1) |
| Yes | 2,899 | (30.8) | 250 | (33.9) |
| Family history of CRC | ||||
| No | 7,932 | (84.3) | 610 | (82.8) |
| Yes | 1,473 | (15.7) | 127 | (17.2) |
| Depressive symptom† | ||||
| < 0.06 | 8,724 | (92.8) | 666 | (90.4)* |
| ≥ 0.06 | 681 | (7.2) | 71 | (9.6) |
| METs·hour·week-1, mean (SD)¶ | 10.95 | (12.84) | 11.49 | (12.73) |
| METs·hour·week-1 ¶ | ||||
| ≥ 10.0 | 3,881 | (41.3) | 322 | (43.7) |
| < 10.0 | 5,524 | (58.7) | 415 | (56.3) |
| Cigarettes smoked per day | ||||
| Never smoked | 5,018 | (53.4) | 380 | (51.6) |
| < 15 | 2,386 | (25.4) | 185 | (25.1) |
| ≥ 15 | 2,001 | (21.3) | 172 | (23.3) |
| Years of regular smoking | ||||
| Never smoked | 5,018 | (53.4) | 380 | (51.6) |
| < 5 | 510 | (5.4) | 43 | (5.8) |
| 5-9 | 524 | (5.6) | 37 | (5.0) |
| 10 + | 3,353 | (35.7) | 277 | (37.6) |
| Dietary alcohol per day in g, mean (SD) | 6.12 | (11.45) | 6.35 | (11.92) |
| % calories from carbohydrates, mean (SD) | 49.01 | (8.69) | 49.37 | (8.91) |
| Dietary total sugars in g, mean (SD) | 98.88 | (43.73) | 100.02 | (42.93) |
| % calories from SFA, median (range) | 11.34 | (2.22-32.39) | 11.44 | (2.60-26.77) |
| % calories from SFA€ | ||||
| < 9.0 % | 2,121 | (22.6) | 169 | (22.9) |
| ≥ 9.0 % | 7,284 | (77.4) | 568 | (77.1) |
| % calories from MFA, mean (SD) | 12.71 | (3.26) | 12.56 | (3.22) |
| % calories from PFA, mean (SD) | 6.83 | (2.09) | 6.80 | (2.04) |
| Height in cm, mean (SD) | 161.9 | (6.00) | 162.5 | (6.07)* |
| Weight in kg, mean (SD) | 72.99 | (14.79) | 72.98 | (14.10) |
| BMI in kg/m2, mean (SD) | 27.80 | (5.36) | 27.61 | (5.19) |
| BMI¥ | ||||
| < 30.0 | 6,613 | (70.3) | 538 | (73.0) |
| ≥ 30.0 | 2,792 | (29.7) | 199 | (27.0) |
| Waist circumference in cm, mean (SD) | 86.72 | (12.86) | 87.3 | (12.30) |
| Waist circumference¥ | ||||
| ≤ 88 | 5,574 | (59.3) | 424 | (57.5) |
| > 88 | 3,831 | (40.7) | 313 | (42.5) |
| Hip circumference in cm, mean (SD) | 106.5 | (11.16) | 106.6 | (10.87) |
| Waist-to-hip ratio, mean (SD) | 0.813 | (0.073) | 0.8184 | (0.074) |
| Waist-to-hip ratio¥ | ||||
| ≤ 0.85 | 6,702 | (71.3) | 520 | (70.6) |
| > 0.85 | 2,703 | (28.7) | 217 | (29.4) |
| Age at menopause in years, mean (SD) | 48 | (6.20) | 49 | (6.26) |
| Total months of breastfeeding | ||||
| 1-6 | 3,363 | (35.8) | 287 | (38.9)* |
| 7-12 | 4,451 | (47.3) | 357 | (48.4) |
| > 13 | 1,591 | (16.9) | 93 | (12.6) |
| Oral contraceptive duration in years, mean (SD) | 6.71 | (3.54) | 5.16 | (3.10)* |
| Oral contraceptive duration£ | ||||
| < 5.1 | 2,745 | (29.2) | 381 | (51.7)* |
| ≥ 5.1 | 6,660 | (70.8) | 356 | (48.3) |
| Exogenous estrogen use (E-only) in years | ||||
| Never | 6,588 | (70.0) | 488 | (66.2)* |
| < 5 | 1,312 | (14.0) | 106 | (14.4) |
| 5 to < 10 | 476 | (5.1) | 54 | (7.3) |
| ≥ 10 | 1,029 | (10.9) | 89 | (12.1) |
| Exogenous estrogen use (E+P) in years | ||||
| Never | 7,753 | (82.4) | 567 | (76.9)* |
| < 5 | 900 | (9.6) | 86 | (11.7) |
| 5 to < 10 | 394 | (4.2) | 42 | (5.7) |
| ≥ 10 | 358 | (3.8) | 42 | (5.7) |
BMI, body mass index; CRC, colorectal cancer; E, estrogen; E+P, estrogen + progestin; MET, metabolic equivalent; MFA, monounsaturated fatty acids; PFA, polyunsaturated fatty acids; RSF, random survival forest; SFA, saturated fatty acids.
P < 0.05, chi-squared or Wilcoxon’s rank-sum test.
Depression scales were estimated using a short form of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale.
Physical activity was estimated via recreational physical activity combining walking and mild, moderate, and strenuous physical activity.
Each activity was assigned a MET value corresponding to intensity; the total MET·hours·week-1 was calculated by multiplying the MET level for the activity by the hours exercised per week and summing the values for all activities. The total MET was stratified into 2 groups, with 10 METs as the cutoff according to current American College of Sports Medicine and American Heart Association recommendations [97].
Percent calories from SFA was classified by 9%, addressing low sample power (i.e., containing a quarter in one side) and adherent to the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology dietary guidelines, which are aligned with the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans to help cardiovascular and metabolic diseases reductions [98].
BMI, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio were categorized at 30 kg/m2, 88 cm, and 0.85, respectively, where those cutoff levels or higher fall within the overall or visceral obese range (https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/defining.html; [99]).
Duration of oral contraceptive use was stratified at 5.1 years, where the cutoff level or higher fall within the high-risk group in the RSF model.