Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of 10,930 women in the SUN cohort according to the baseline total dairy product consumption.
| Quartiles of Energy Adjusted Dairy Product Consumption | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | |
| N | 2733 | 2732 | 2733 | 2732 |
| Median energy-adjusted dairy product consumption (servings/day) | 1.5 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 4.7 |
| Median energy-adjusted dairy product consumption range (servings/day) | ≤2 | 2–3 | 3–4 | ≥4 |
| Median energy-adjusted whole-fat dairy product consumption (servings/day) | 0.4 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 2.8 |
| Median energy-adjusted low-fat dairy product consumption (servings/day) | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 3.2 |
| Median energy-adjusted fermented dairy product consumption (servings/day) | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.6 |
| Median total milk consumption (servings/day) | 0.7 | 1 | 1.3 | 2.5 |
| Median total yogurt consumption (servings/day) | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Median total cheese consumption (servings/day) | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.9 |
| Time of university education (years), mean (SD) | 4.8 (1.3) | 4.9 (1.3) | 4.9 (1.3) | 4.8 (1.4) |
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 35.6 (10.8) | 34.9 (10.5) | 35.0 (10.3) | 35.4 (10.7) |
| Height (cm), mean (SD) | 163.6 (6.1) | 163.7 (6.0) | 163.5 (6.0) | 163.6 (6.1) |
| Body max index (kg/m2), mean (SD) | 22.0 (3.1) | 22. 2 (3.1) | 22.3 (3.0) | 22.4 (3.0) |
| Physical activity (METs-h/week), mean (SD) | 17.7 (19.6) | 17.8 (18.5) | 19.2 (19.3) | 20.4 (21.1) |
| Total energy intake (kcal/day), mean (SD) | 2392 (588) | 2221 (561) | 2256 (562) | 2314 (566) |
| Alcohol intake (g/day), mean (SD) | 4.9 (7.0) | 4.2 (5.8) | 3.7 (5.4) | 3.3 (5.1) |
| Hours/day television watching, mean (SD) | 1.7 (1.3) | 1.6 (1.2) | 1.6 (1.2) | 1.6 (1.2) |
| Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption (%) | ||||
| Never or seldom | 58.5 | 60.2 | 63.3 | 68.3 |
| ≥1 servings/week | 41.5 | 39.8 | 36.7 | 31.6 |
| Age at menarche (%) | ||||
| Early | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.3 |
| 10–11 years | 17.6 | 19.8 | 18.7 | 20.5 |
| 12–13 years | 55.7 | 54.9 | 55.3 | 53.5 |
| ≥14 years | 25.5 | 25.1 | 24.8 | 24.6 |
| Obstetric history (%) | ||||
| Age <25 years and nulliparous | 18.0 | 18.1 | 17.4 | 17.5 |
| Age ≥25 years and nulliparous | 49.3 | 50.7 | 48.6 | 47.6 |
| First pregnancy before 25 years | 4.5 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 5.1 |
| First pregnancy between 25 and 30 years of age | 14.1 | 13.6 | 15.2 | 14.7 |
| First pregnancy being 30 years old or older | 13.9 | 13.2 | 13.8 | 14.9 |
| Oral contraceptive use (%) | ||||
| No | 97.6 | 97.1 | 97.7 | 97.7 |
| Yes | 2.3 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 2.3 |
| Menopausal status at recruitment (%) | ||||
| Premenopausal (%) | 91.9 | 92.6 | 92.6 | 91.5 |
| Postmenopausal (%) | 8.0 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 8.5 |
| Age at menopause (%) a | ||||
| <50 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.5 |
| ≥50 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.9 |
| Family history of breast cancer (%) b | ||||
| None | 89.3 | 89.9 | 89.3 | 88.9 |
| Before 45 years | 1.7 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 1.8 |
| After 45 years | 8.9 | 8.4 | 8.6 | 9.3 |
| Hormone replacement therapy (%) c | ||||
| No | 95.9 | 95.9 | 95.2 | 94.1 |
| Yes | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 5.9 |
| Time of hormone replacement therapy (years) mean (SD) c | 0.1 (0.9) | 0.1 (0.8) | 0.1 (0.8) | 0.2 (1.1) |
| Breastfeeding (months), mean (SD) | 2.3 (4.9) | 2.2 (4.7) | 2.4 (5.0) | 2.4 (5.1) |
| Smoking status (%) | ||||
| Never | 47.8 | 52.4 | 54.3 | 52.1 |
| Current | 26.5 | 22.7 | 20.7 | 20.8 |
| Former | 25.7 | 25.9 | 24.9 | 27.1 |
| Lifetime tobacco exposure (pack-years), mean (SD) |
4.7 (7.5) | 4.0 (6.9) | 3.9 (6.9) | 4.3 (7.4) |
| Energy-adjusted calcium intake from non-dairy product (mg/day), mean (SD) | 1514 (1774.8) | 1383 (1428.6) | 1394 (1328.2) | 1409(1583.4) |
| Energy-adjusted vitamin D intake from non-dairy product (mg/day), mean (SD) | 6.1(5.1) | 6 (4) | 6 (4.2) | 6 (4.1) |
| Energy-adjusted saturated fat intake from non-dairy product (mg/day), mean (SD) | 23.8 (6.4) | 22.4 (5.2) | 21.3 (5) | 18.9 (5.2) |
| Coffee consumption (servings/day), (%) | ||||
| <1 | 39.7 | 36.0 | 34.0 | 31.6 |
| ≥1 | 60.3 | 63.9 | 65.9 | 68.3 |
| Adherence to Mediterranean diet, mean (SD) d | 3.5 (1.6) | 3.3 (1.6) | 3.4 (1.6) | 3.5 (1.6) |
Values are expressed as the mean (SD) for quantitative variables and as percentage for categorical ones. Medians are expressed for quartiles of exposure variables (servings/day). Interquartile ranges are expressed for the group variable. MET: metabolic equivalent of task. a For women with no available information on age at menopause, we used the 75th percentile of the age of menopause (52 years in our sample). b Information from mother, sisters, and both grandmothers was collected. c Only for postmenopausal women. d Score proposed by Trichopoulou et al. (2013) [34].