Table 3.
Characteristics of subjects across quartiles of major dietary patterns (n = 15,005) 1.
| Variables | Western Dietary Pattern | Mediterranean Dietary Pattern | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 n = 3751 |
Q2 n = 3751 |
Q3 n = 3752 |
Q4 n = 3751 |
p | Q1 n = 3751 |
Q2 n = 3751 |
Q3 n = 3752 |
Q4 n = 3751 |
p | |
| Factor score range | −2.51, −0.73 | −0.73, −0.14 | −0.14, 0.58 | 0.58, 5.75 | −2.80, −064 | −0.64, −0.12 | −0.12, 0.55 | 0.55, 5.30 | ||
| Age (years), n (%) | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||||||
| 35–44 | 637 (17.0) | 1173 (31.3) | 1526 (40.7) | 2027 (54.0) | 1548 (41.3) | 1389 (37.0) | 1303 (34.7) | 1123 (29.9) | ||
| 45–54 | 1270 (33.9) | 1254 (33.4) | 1179 (31.4) | 963 (25.7) | 1174 (31.3) | 1149 (30.6) | 1176 (31.3) | 1167 (31.1) | ||
| 55–64 | 1445 (38.5) | 1076 (28.7) | 875 (23.3) | 622 (16.6) | 833 (22.2) | 986 (26.3) | 1027 (27.4) | 1172 (31.3) | ||
| 65–69 | 399 (10.6) | 248 (6.6) | 172 (4.6) | 139 (3.7) | 196 (5.2) | 227 (6.1) | 246 (6.6) | 289 (7.7) | ||
| Marital status, n (%) | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||||||
| Single | 317 (8.5) | 385 (10.3) | 368 (9.8) | 476 (12.7) | 491 (13.1) | 382 (10.2) | 347 (9.3) | 326 (8.6) | ||
| Married | 2892 (77.1) | 2925 (78.0) | 3020 (80.5) | 2957 (78.8) | 2803 (74.7) | 2974 (79.3) | 3003 (80.0) | 3014 (80.4) | ||
| Divorced | 542 (14.4) | 441 (11.7) | 364 (9.7) | 318 (8.5) | 457 (12.2) | 395 (10.5) | 402 (10.7) | 411 (11.0) | ||
| Education, n (%) | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||||||
| <University | 2994 (79.8) | 2714 (72.4) | 2544 (67.8) | 2465 (65.7) | 2797 (74.6) | 2727 (72.7) | 2602 (69.3) | 2591 (69.1) | ||
| ≥University | 757 (20.2) | 1037 (27.6) | 1208 (32.2) | 1286 (34.3) | 954(25.4) | 1024 (27.3) | 1150 (30.7) | 1160 (30.9) | ||
| Current smoking, n (%) |
<0.001 | <0.001 | ||||||||
| No | 3537 (94.3) | 3410 (90.9) | 3256 (86.8) | 2952 (78.7) | 3090 (82.4) | 3272 (87.2) | 3355 (89.4) | 3438 (91.7) | ||
| Yes | 214 (5.7) | 341 (9.1) | 496 (13.2) | 799 (21.3) | 661 (17.6) | 479 (12.8) | 397 (20.6) | 313 (8.3) | ||
| Current drinking, n (%) | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||||||
| No | 3467 (92.4) | 3374 (89.9) | 3243 (86.4) | 3106 (82.8) | 3234 (86.2) | 3266 (87.1) | 3348 (89.2) | 3342 (89.1) | ||
| Yes | 284 (7.6) | 377 (10.1) | 509 (13.6) | 645 (17.2) | 517 (13.8) | 485 (12.9) | 404 (10.8) | 409(10.9) | ||
| Physical activity, n (%) | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||||||
| Sedentary | 1430 (58.0) | 1565 (65.3) | 1615 (68.2) | 1575 (71.0) | 1841(78.3) | 1655 (69.5) | 1434 (60.9) | 1255 (53.1) | ||
| Active | 1034 (42.0) | 833 (34.7) | 754 (31.8) | 644 (29.0) | 510(21.7) | 725 (30.5) | 9 21(39.1) | 1108 (46.9) | ||
| Menopause, n (%) | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||||||
| No | 1135 (38.8) | 1274 (50.0) | 1272 (56.7) | 1144 (62.3) | 1311 (56.5) | 1213 (51.7) | 1205 (50.2) | 1096 (44.1) | ||
| Yes | 1787 (61.2) | 1275 (50.0) | 973(43.3) | 693 (37.7) | 1010 (43.5) | 1132 (48.3) | 1194 (49.8) | 1392 (55.9) | ||
| BMI (kg/m2), n (%) | <0.001 | 0.235 | ||||||||
| <18.5 (underweight) | 173 (4.6) | 159 (4.2) | 132 (3.5) | 123 (3.3) | 152 (4.1) | 143 (3.8) | 150 (4.0) | 142 (3.8) | ||
| 18.5 ≤ BMI < 24 (normal) | 2372 (63.2) | 2280 (60.8) | 2165 (57.7) | 1939 (51.7) | 2181 (58.1) | 2136 (57.0) | 2189 (58.3) | 2250 (60.0) | ||
| 24 ≤ BMI < 27 (overweight) | 1206 (32.2) | 1312 (35.0) | 1455 (38.8) | 1689 (45.0) | 1418 (37.8) | 1472 (39.2) | 1413 (37.7) | 1359 (36.2) | ||
| Waist circumference (cm) | 75.8 ± 6.9 | 76.4 ± 7.2 | 77.2 ± 7.4 | 78.6 ± 7.3 | <0.001 | 77.3 ± 7.5 | 77.2 ±7.2 | 77.0 ± 7.2 | 76.7 ± 7.2 | <0.001 |
| Abdominal obesity, n (%) |
0.024 | 0.29 | ||||||||
| No | 3127 (83.4) | 3200 (85.3) | 3194 (85.1) | 3130 (83.4) | 3139 (83.7) | 3168 (84.5) | 3149 (83.9) | 3195 (85.2) | ||
| Yes | 624 (16.6) | 551 (14.7) | 558 (14.9) | 621 (16.6) | 612 (16.3) | 583 (15.5) | 603 (16.1) | 556 (14.8) | ||
| TC (mmol/L) | 5.80 ± 0.78 | 5.76 ± 0.76 | 5.76 ± 0.77 | 5.68 ± 0.77 | <0.001 | 5.79 ± 080 | 5.75 ± 0.77 | 5.74 ± 0.76 | 5.73 ± 0.75 | 0.004 |
| HDL-C (mmol/L) | 1.57 ± 0.41 | 1.55 ± 0.42 | 1.51 ± 0.41 | 1.44 ± 0.38 | <0.001 | 1.50 ± 0.41 | 1.51 ± 0.42 | 1.51 ± 0.40 | 1.54 ± 0.42 | <0.001 |
| LDL-C (mmol/L) | 3.58 ± 0.76 | 3.55 ± 0.76 | 3.58 ± 0.76 | 3.54 ± 0.77 | 0.06 | 3.60 ± 0.80 | 3.55 ± 0.76 | 3.56 ± 0.75 | 3.54 ± 0.74 | 0.004 |
| TG (mmol/L) | 1.46 ± 0.79 | 1.51 ± 0.88 | 1.52 ± 0.78 | 1.62 ± 0.98 | <0.001 | 1.57 ± 0.91 | 1.55 ± 0.90 | 1.52 ± 0.85 | 1.47 ± 0.79 | <0.001 |
| FPG (mmol/L) | 6.11 ± 1.23 | 6.06 ± 1.12 | 6.06 ± 1.23 | 6.05 ± 1.10 | 0.040 | 6.08 ± 1.29 | 6.07 ± 1.16 | 6.06 ± 1.09 | 6.07 ± 1.16 | 0.72 |
| CRP (mmol/L) | 0.23 ± 0.55 | 0.21 ± 0.40 | 0.21 ± 0.39 | 0.21 ± 0.36 | 0.65 | 0.24 ± 0.56 | 0.22 ± 0.45 | 0.20 ± 0.26 | 0.21 ± 0.40 | <0.001 |
| ALT (U/L) | 26.3 ± 22.1 | 27.4 ± 22.8 | 27.7 ± 21.8 | 30.1 ± 21.3 | <0.001 | 28.3 ± 22.1 | 27.6 ± 21.6 | 28.3 ± 24.6 | 27.3 ± 19.7 | 0.20 |
| AST (U/L) | 23.9 ± 12.1 | 23.8 ± 12.0 | 23.3 ± 10.1 | 23.7 ± 10.2 | 0.12 | 23.6 ± 11.7 | 23.4 ± 10.8 | 24.0 ± 12.2 | 23.7 ± 9.6 | 0.36 |
| GGT (U/L) | 26.5 ± 39.1 | 28.2 ± 30.6 | 28.5 ± 28.4 | 32.2 ± 34.8 | <0.001 | 31.1 ± 37.1 | 28.5 ± 28.4 | 28.6 ± 37.0 | 27.2 ± 30.6 | <0.001 |
BMI: body mass index, TC: total cholesterol, HDL-C: high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, LDL-C: low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, TG: triglycerides, FPG: fasting plasma glucose, CRP: C-reactive protein, ALT: alanine aminotransferase, AST: aspartate aminotransferase, GGT: gamma-glutamyl transferase. 1 Data are presented as mean ± SD for continuous variables and n (%) for categorical variables. The p-values were derived from general linear regression for continuous variables and from chi-square test for categorical variables. n = 9449 for physical activity data, n = 9553 for menopause data (women only).