Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the 2332 participants according to quartiles of the healthy Nordic diet score
| Quartile of the healthy Nordic diet score (score) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | 1 (≤ 9) | 2 (10–12) | 3 (13–14) | 4 (≥ 15) |
| Number of subjects | 664 | 438 | 607 | 623 |
| Age (years) | 52.8 ± 5.0a | 52.8 ± 5.3 | 52.9 ± 5.0 | 53.2 ± 5.2 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 26.6 ± 3.3 | 26.5 ± 3.4 | 26.7 ± 3.2 | 26.6 ± 3.3 |
| Leisure-time physical activity (kcal/day) | 108 ± 163 | 128 ± 150 | 150 ± 168 | 170 ± 196 |
| Income (euros) | 11,441 ± 8056 | 13,169 ± 8129 | 13,689 ± 8587 | 14,586 ± 8506 |
| Education (years) | 7.8 ± 2.8 | 8.7 ± 3.4 | 8.8 ± 3.7 | 9.4 ± 3.7 |
| Energy intake (kcal/day) | 2492 ± 619 | 2447 ± 624 | 2458 ± 624 | 2428 ± 568 |
| Alcohol intake (g/week) | 95 ± 158 | 71 ± 101 | 76 ± 162 | 49 ± 82 |
| Mean systolic blood pressure | 134 ± 16.4 | 133 ± 15.6 | 133 ± 17.3 | 132 ± 16.1 |
| Mean diastolic blood pressure | 89 ± 10.7 | 88 ± 9.7 | 89 ± 10.5 | 88 ± 10.3 |
| C-reactive protein (mmol/L) | 2.77 ± 5.2 | 2.42 ± 3.8 | 2.20 ± 3.3 | 1.94 ± 3.5 |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/L) | 6.03 ± 1.1 | 6.02 ± 1.1 | 5.82 ± 1.0 | 5.77 ± 1.0 |
| LDL cholesterol (mmol/L) | 4.16 ± 1.1 | 4.11 ± 1.1 | 3.98 ± 1.0 | 3.96 ± 1.0 |
| HDL cholesterol (mmol/L) | 1.32 ± 0.3 | 1.31 ± 0.3 | 1.30 ± 0.3 | 1.27 ± 0.3 |
| Triglycerides (mmol/L) | 1.24 ± 0.8 | 1.30 ± 0.8 | 1.24 ± 0.7 | 1.30 ± 0.7 |
| Use of hypertension medication at baseline (%) | 17.2 | 19.2 | 18.3 | 25.7 |
| Use of hypertension medication during follow-up (%) | 74.5 | 75.8 | 76.9 | 77.2 |
| Use of cholesterol medication at baseline (%) | 0 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.3 |
| Use of cholesterol medication during follow-up (%) | 49.4 | 50.2 | 51.4 | 51.8 |
| Current smoker (%) | 47.7 | 33.3 | 27.2 | 19.1 |
| Diabetes history in family (%) | 24.5 | 25.8 | 26.2 | 30.0 |
| Cardiovascular disease history in family (%) | 81.2 | 79.7 | 82.7 | 83.6 |
| Marital status married (%) | 80.4 | 88.8 | 88.5 | 91.3 |
aAll values are means (SD) or percentages