Table 1. Age-Adjusted Characteristics of Women Participating in the Nurses’ Health Study II, According to Quintiles of Mean Energy-Adjusted Gluten Intakea.
| Characteristics | Participants by quintile of mean gluten intake, No. (%) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1, lowest (n = 2700) | 2 (n = 2697) | 3 (n = 2699) | 4 (n = 2699) | 5, highest (n = 2699) | |
| Energy-adjusted gluten intake, mean (SD), g/d | 4.3 (0.6) | 5.5 (0.2) | 6.2 (0.2) | 7.0 (0.3) | 8.6 (1.0) |
| Age at cognitive testing, mean (SD), yb | 61.2 (4.5) | 60.7 (4.6) | 60.6 (4.6) | 60.3 (4.5) | 60.0 (4.7) |
| White individuals | 2497 (92.5) | 2603 (96.5) | 2644 (98.0) | 2627 (97.3) | 2642 (97.9) |
| Husband’s educational attainment | |||||
| ≤High school | 422 (15.6) | 443 (16.4) | 419 (15.5) | 407 (15.1) | 377 (14.0) |
| College | 1185 (43.9) | 1185 (43.9) | 1178 (43.6) | 1117 (41.4) | 1094 (40.5) |
| Graduate school | 737 (27.3) | 775 (28.7) | 763 (28.3) | 852 (31.6) | 902 (33.4) |
| Unmarried or missing | 356 (13.2) | 294 (10.9) | 339 (12.6) | 323 (12.0) | 326 (12.1) |
| Family income, mean (SD), in thousands of 2010 US $ | 82.1 (31.9) | 82.1 (31.1) | 83.7 (31.6) | 84.6 (32.6) | 85.6 (32.2) |
| BMI, mean (SD) | 26.5 (5.7) | 26.5 (5.5) | 26.4 (5.6) | 26.0 (5.2) | 25.5 (5.4) |
| Currently diagnosed with depression or had clinically relevant depressive symptoms | 784 (29.0) | 849 (31.5) | 875 (32.4) | 871 (32.3) | 898 (33.3) |
| History of hypertension | 1132 (41.9) | 1114 (41.3) | 1046 (38.8) | 965 (35.8) | 900 (33.4) |
| History of diabetes | 236 (8.7) | 220 (8.2) | 216 (8.0) | 169 (6.3) | 150 (5.6) |
| History of hypercholesterolemia | 1666 (61.7) | 1611 (59.7) | 1620 (60.0) | 1547 (57.3) | 1434 (53.1) |
| History of myocardial infarction | 33 (1.2) | 46 (1.7) | 35 (1.3) | 31 (1.1) | 30 (1.1) |
| Menopausal status and hormone use | |||||
| Premenopausal | 260 (9.63) | 331 (12.3) | 324 (12.0) | 341 (12.6) | 378 (14.0) |
| Postmenopausal and never used hormones | 1021 (37.8) | 1079 (40.0) | 1084 (40.2) | 1148 (42.5) | 1183 (43.8) |
| Postmenopausal and formerly used hormones | 547 (32.3) | 450 (31.0) | 486 (29.8) | 484 (26.9) | 441 (25.8) |
| Postmenopausal and currently using hormones | 872 (20.3) | 837 (16.7) | 805 (18.0) | 726 (17.9) | 697 (16.3) |
| Smoking status | |||||
| Never | 1645 (60.9) | 1785 (66.2) | 1768 (65.5) | 1826 (67.7) | 1908 (70.7) |
| Past | 929 (34.4) | 819 (30.4) | 856 (31.7) | 803 (29.8) | 730 (27.0) |
| Current | 124 (4.6) | 89 (3.3) | 73 (2.7) | 67 (2.5) | 60 (2.2) |
| Missing | 2 (0.1) | 4 (0.1) | 2 (0.1) | 3 (0.1) | 1 (0.04) |
| Multivitamin use | 1536 (56.9) | 1527 (56.6) | 1531 (56.7) | 1441 (53.4) | 1408 (52.2) |
| Regular aspirin or NSAID use | 678 (25.1) | 679 (25.2) | 671 (24.9) | 654 (24.2) | 630 (23.3) |
| Physical activity, mean (SD), METs/wk | 24.5 (20.3) | 22.2 (18.2) | 22.9 (18.8) | 23.1 (19.6) | 22.7 (18.6) |
| Total calories, mean (SD), kcal/d | 1795.0 (436.7) | 1823.0 (424.6) | 1821.3 (416.2) | 1809.6 (438.9) | 1744.1 (413.2) |
| Alcohol intake, mean (SD), g/d | 5.9 (8.3) | 5.5 (7.4) | 5.4 (7.1) | 5.3 (7.0) | 4.6 (6.2) |
| AHEI-10 score, mean (SD)c | 47.3 (9.6) | 45.8 (8.7) | 45.8 (8.4) | 46.3 (8.4) | 45.9 (8.2) |
| Refined grain intake, mean (SD), servings/d | 0.9 (0.4) | 1.1 (0.5) | 1.1 (0.5) | 1.3 (0.6) | 1.4 (0.6) |
| Whole grain intake, mean (SD), servings/d | 0.8 (0.5) | 1.0 (0.5) | 1.1 (0.6) | 1.3 (0.7) | 1.5 (0.9) |
Abbreviations: AHEI-10, Alternative Healthy Eating Index 2010; BMI, body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared); MET, metabolic equivalent; NSAID, nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drug.
Values are adjusted for age (49-55, 56-60, 61-65, and 66-70 y). All variables were updated until the cognitive testing. Dietary intake, BMI, and physical activity were cumulatively averaged through 1991 to the most recent survey (2011 or 2015) before cognitive testing.
Value is not age adjusted.
The AHEI-10 score excluded whole grains and alcohol, so it included the following 9 components, each scored from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating healthier diet and better adherence to the index: vegetables, fruits, sugar-sweetened beverages and fruit juice, nuts and legumes, red and/or processed meat, trans fat, long-chain (n3) fatty acids, poly-unsaturated fatty acids, and sodium.