Table 1.
Baseline ARIC cohort participants’ characteristics
| Choline quartiles | P value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quartile 1 | Quartile 2 | Quartile 3 | Quartile 4 | ||
| N | 3,392 | 3,392 | 3,392 | 3,391 | |
| Choline, mg/day (median [IQR]) | 175.04 (35.00) | 258.71 (20.18) | 333.88 (24.37) | 487.04 (114.62) | <0.001 |
| Betaine, mg/day (median [IQR]) | 56.79 (21.62) | 74.51 (25.86) | 87.65 (27.84) | 114.84 (43.06) | <0.001 |
| Age (mean [SD]) | 53.79 (5.75) | 54.07 (5.72) | 54.02 (5.74) | 54.00 (5.75) | 0.175 |
| BMI, kg/m2 (median [IQR]) | 26.73 (4.94) | 27.17 (5.17) | 27.44 (5.14) | 27.63 (5.11) | <0.001 |
| FBG, mg/dL (median [IQR]) | 98.15 (9.33) | 98.68 (9.14) | 98.79 (9.44) | 98.97 (9.32) | 0.002 |
| Race | 0.082 | ||||
| Black | 814 (24.0) | 782 (23.1) | 803 (23.7) | 869 (25.6) | |
| White | 2,578 (76.0) | 2,610 (76.9) | 2,589 (76.3) | 2,522 (74.4) | |
| Sex | <0.001 | ||||
| Female | 2,138 (63.0) | 1,955 (57.6) | 1,836 (54.1) | 1,547 (45.6) | |
| Male | 1,254 (37.0) | 1,437 (42.4) | 1,556 (45.9) | 1,844 (54.4) | |
| Education, n (%) | <0.001 | ||||
| Grade school | 305 (9.0) | 266 (7.9) | 271 (8.0) | 299 (8.8) | |
| Less than high school | 471 (13.9) | 432 (12.8) | 404 (11.9) | 495 (14.6) | |
| High school graduate | 1,223 (36.1) | 1,107 (32.7) | 1,064 (31.4) | 1,047 (30.9) | |
| Vocational school | 271 (8.0) | 291 (8.6) | 311 (9.2) | 299 (8.8) | |
| College | 819 (24.2) | 921 (27.2) | 968 (28.6) | 886 (26.2) | |
| Graduate/professional school | 298 (8.8) | 370 (10.9) | 372 (11.0) | 360 (10.6) | |
| Alcohol, g/week (mean [SD]) | 39.88 (90.58) | 43.30 (93.93) | 45.14 (96.68) | 50.12 (111.36) | <0.001 |
| Magnesium, mg/day (median [IQR]) | 176.61 (56.96) | 227.98 (64.84) | 267.66 (69.79) | 343.34 (94.39) | <0.001 |
| Total calorie intake, kcal/day (mean [SD]) | 1,082.90 (323.77) | 1,411.50 (342.88) | 1,714.48 (394.38) | 2,335.27 (639.38) | <0.001 |
| Cholesterol, mg/dL (median [IQR]) | 215.78 (42.54) | 214.62 (40.99) | 213.46 (40.99) | 212.69 (40.22) | 0.011 |
| Folate intake, μg DFE/day (mean [SD]) | 157.17 (68.35) | 205.20 (77.42) | 240.71 (84.35) | 306.43 (111.41) | <0.001 |
| Vitamin B6, mg/day (mean [SD]) | 1.14 (0.41) | 1.52 (0.44) | 1.82 (0.49) | 2.35 (0.67) | <0.001 |
| Vitamin B12, μg/day (mean [SD]) | 4.70 (2.69) | 6.44 (3.16) | 8.11 (3.64) | 11.10 (4.81) | <0.001 |
| Methionine, g/day (mean [SD]) | 0.98 (0.26) | 1.43 (0.25) | 1.81 (0.29) | 2.53 (0.62) | <0.001 |
| Animal fat, g/day (mean [SD]) | 20.52 (8.36) | 29.44 (9.60) | 38.45 (10.82) | 55.82 (18.89) | <0.001 |
| Animal protein, g/day (mean [SD]) | 29.79 (9.24) | 44.58 (9.61) | 57.49 (10.97) | 81.56 (22.57) | <0.001 |
DFE, dietary folate equivalent; FBG, fasting blood glucose; IQR, interquartile range.