Table 1. Baseline characteristics of study population according to chocolate consumptiona.
| Characteristics | Energy-adjusted chocolate consumption (servings/week) | P | ||||
| 0 | >0–0.5 | >0.5–1 | >1–2 | >2 | ||
| No. of participants | 5368 | 40760 | 14821 | 10907 | 20035 | <0.001 |
| Age (years) | 65.8 ± 5.7 | 65.3 ± 5.6 | 65.3 ± 5.7 | 65.0 ± 5.7 | 65.2 ± 5.8 | <0.001 |
| Male | 2907 (54.2) | 18217 (44.7) | 7090 (47.8) | 5097 (46.7) | 9232 (46.1) | <0.001 |
| Ethnic group | ||||||
| Non-Hispanic white | 4372 (81.4) | 36249 (88.9) | 13702 (92.4) | 10236 (93.8) | 18989 (94.8) | <0.001 |
| Non-Hispanic black | 433 (8.1) | 1619 (4.0) | 381 (2.6) | 209 (1.9) | 339 (1.7) | |
| Hispanic | 140 (2.6) | 655 (1.6) | 208 (1.4) | 129 (1.2) | 228 (1.1) | |
| Othersb | 423 (7.9) | 2237 (5.5) | 530 (3.6) | 333 (3.1) | 479 (2.4) | |
| Married or living as married | 4000 (74.5) | 31975 (78.4) | 11695 (78.9) | 8695 (79.7) | 15568 (77.7) | <0.001 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 27.1 ± 5.1 | 27.0 ± 4.8 | 27.4 ± 4.8 | 27.2 ± 4.7 | 27.3 ± 4.8 | <0.001 |
| Educational degree | ||||||
| College below | 3512 (65.4) | 25735 (63.1) | 9479 (64.0) | 6790 (62.3) | 12649 (63.1) | <0.001 |
| College graduate | 884 (16.5) | 7227 (17.7) | 2652 (17.9) | 1948 (17.9) | 3621 (18.1) | |
| Postgraduate | 972 (18.1) | 7798 (19.1) | 2690 (18.1) | 2169 (19.9) | 3765 (18.8) | |
| Alcohol consumption (g/day) | 10.6 ± 29.6 | 10.3 ± 26.6 | 9.8 ± 26.5 | 8.7 ± 21.5 | 8.1 ± 21.6 | <0.001 |
| Smoking status | ||||||
| Current | 442 (8.2) | 3472 (8.5) | 1383 (9.3) | 982 (9.0) | 2199 (11.0) | <0.001 |
| Former | 2418 (45.0) | 17274 (42.4) | 6261 (42.2) | 4417 (40.5) | 7983 (39.8) | |
| Never | 2508 (46.7) | 20014 (49.1) | 7177 (48.4) | 5508 (50.5) | 9853 (49.2) | |
| Physical activity (min/week)c | 130.2 ± 133.9 | 124.9 ± 123.8 | 122.2 ± 121.3 | 121.0 ± 120.8 | 117.0 ± 120.5 | <0.001 |
| Energy intake from diet (kcal/day) | 1641.8 ± 747.4 | 1567.7 ± 658.4 | 1748.0 ± 716.5 | 1840.3 ± 729.8 | 2040.6 ± 789.7 | <0.001 |
| Healthy Eating Index-2015 | 68.8 ± 9.9 | 68.2 ± 9.5 | 66.5 ± 9.4 | 65.8 ± 9.3 | 63.1 ± 9.5 | <0.001 |
| History of diabetes | 908 (16.9) | 2651 (6.5) | 643 (4.3) | 397 (3.6) | 687 (3.4) | <0.001 |
| History of hypertension | 1810 (33.7) | 12628 (31.0) | 4502 (30.4) | 3115 (28.6) | 5860 (29.2) | <0.001 |
| Family history of cancer | 2828 (52.9) | 22711 (55.9) | 8410 (56.9) | 6137 (56.4) | 11439 (57.2) | <0.001 |
| Aspirin user | 2274 (42.6) | 17605 (43.4) | 6494 (44.0) | 4842 (44.6) | 8917 (44.7) | 0.004 |
| Food consumption | ||||||
| Red meat (g/day) | 54.1 ± 54.9 | 53.2 ± 46.1 | 64.9 ± 51.7 | 69.0 ± 55.6 | 72.7 ± 58.4 | <0.001 |
| Processed meat (g/day) | 16.8 ± 23.1 | 14.8 ± 16.9 | 17.7 ± 18.7 | 18.4 ± 19.0 | 19.4 ± 19.9 | <0.001 |
| Fruit (g/day) | 312.2 ± 276.0 | 272.7 ± 219.7 | 266.8 ± 200.5 | 273.0 ± 204.1 | 270.5 ± 209.5 | <0.001 |
| Vegetable (g/day) | 319.1 ± 238.2 | 278.3 ± 187.1 | 280.3 ± 178.1 | 285.3 ± 173.7 | 285.4 ± 175.7 | <0.001 |
| Whole grain (servings/day) | 1.3 ± 1.0 | 1.1 ± 0.8 | 1.2 ± 0.8 | 1.2 ± 0.8 | 1.2 ± 0.8 | <0.001 |
| Dairy (cups/day) | 1.2 ± 1.2 | 1.3 ± 1.1 | 1.4 ± 1.1 | 1.5 ± 1.1 | 1.6 ± 1.2 | <0.001 |
| Coffee (g/day) | 762.0 ± 792.5 | 843.7 ± 769.7 | 869.5 ± 795.7 | 854.4 ± 804.1 | 846.1 ± 829.8 | <0.001 |
| Tea (g/day) | 285.7 ± 525.1 | 259.2 ± 458.5 | 253.8 ± 446.9 | 262.9 ± 457.9 | 270.6 ± 486.8 | <0.001 |
| Nutrient intake | ||||||
| Dietary fiber (g/day) | 19.4 ± 10.5 | 17.1 ± 8.2 | 17.8 ± 8.3 | 18.5 ± 8.2 | 19.4 ± 8.4 | <0.001 |
| Saturated fatty acids (g/day) | 16.6 ± 10.8 | 16.8 ± 9.8 | 20.2 ± 11.1 | 21.9 ± 11.7 | 26.2 ± 13.2 | <0.001 |
| Added sugar (tsp/day) | 9.4 ± 8.8 | 10.0 ± 7.5 | 12.2 ± 8.4 | 13.6 ± 8.6 | 17.8 ± 10.5 | <0.001 |
| Sodium (mg/day) | 2677.4 ± 1294.6 | 2496.7 ± 1103.2 | 2767.4 ± 1193.2 | 2894.8 ± 1232.1 | 3064.3 ± 1292.8 | <0.001 |
| Magnesium (mg/day) | 328.7 ± 146.3 | 304.6 ± 122.1 | 321.2 ± 125.6 | 332.0 ± 125.9 | 351.6 ± 131.7 | <0.001 |
| Potassium (mg/day) | 3287.9 ± 1418.2 | 3095.1 ± 1210.1 | 3252.6 ± 1233.5 | 3348.8 ± 1243.7 | 3476.2 ± 1286.0 | <0.001 |
| Calcium (mg/day) | 722.2 ± 419.2 | 695.5 ± 386.7 | 753.7 ± 400.0 | 786.8 ± 404.8 | 843.1 ± 425.6 | <0.001 |
aValues are mean ± standard deviation or counts (percentage) as indicated.
b“Others” refers to Asian, Pacific Islander, or American Indian.
cTotal time of moderate to vigorous physical activities per week.