Table 1.
Background characteristics of the study sample by consumption of nuts (cut-off 11.6 g/d referring to median intake). BMI: body mass index
| Low Nut Intake (Mean 4.3 g/d) | High Nut Intake (Mean 39.7 g/d) | p-Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex, n (%) | 0.619 | ||
| Male | 379 (41.7) | 380 (40.6) | |
| Female | 530 (58.3) | 557 (59.4) | |
| Age group, n (%) | 0.004 | ||
| <30 | 173 (19.0) | 169 (18.0) | |
| 30–44 | 243 (26.7) | 247 (26.4) | |
| 44–65 | 294 (32.3) | 367 (39.2) | |
| >65 | 199 (21.9) | 154 (16.4) | |
| Educational level, n (%) | 0.064 | ||
| Low | 317 (34.9) | 346 (36.9) | |
| Medium | 325 (35.8) | 361 (38.5) | |
| High | 267 (29.4) | 230 (24.5) | |
| Occupational level, n (%) | 0.022 | ||
| Unemployed | 214 (25.5) | 227 (30.9) | |
| Low | 146 (17.4) | 94 (12.8) | |
| Medium | 225 (26.8) | 198 (27.0) | |
| High | 253 (30.2) | 215 (29.3) | |
| Smoking status, n (%) | 0.497 | ||
| Non-smoker | 552 (60.7) | 590 (63.0) | |
| Current smoker | 220 (24.2) | 222 (23.7) | |
| Former smoker | 137 (15.1) | 125 (13.3) | |
| Physical activity level, n (%) | 0.345 | ||
| Sedentary | 161 (20.0) | 156 (18.6) | |
| Low | 387 (48.0) | 432 (51.6) | |
| Medium | 258 (32.0) | 249 (29.7) | |
| High | |||
| BMI categories, n (%) | 0.657 | ||
| Normal | 395 (46.6) | 418 (48.0) | |
| Overweight | 306 (36.1) | 296 (34.0) | |
| Obese | 146 (17.2) | 156 (17.9) | |
| Mediterranean diet adherence, n (%) | <0.001 | ||
| Low | 556 (61.2) | 450 (48.0) | |
| Medium | 276 (30.4) | 383 (40.9) | |
| High | 77 (8.5) | 104 (11.1) | |
| Health status, n (%) | |||
| Hypertension | 487 (53.6) | 427 (45.6) | <0.001 |
| Type-2 diabetes | 78 (8.6) | 61 (6.5) | 0.092 |
| Dyslipidemia | 174 (19.1) | 164 (17.5) | 0.363 |