Table 1.
Age-standardized characteristics of participants at the time of lower endoscopy before age 50 according to quartiles of sulfur microbial diet scores in the Nurses’ Health Study II (NHSII), 1991–2015
| Sulfur microbial diet score (quartile) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (lowest) | 2 | 3 | 4 (highest) | |
| Age, years* | 45.3 (4.4) | 45.3 (4.4) | 45.2 (4.5) | 45 (4.5) |
| Height, cm | 165 (6.7) | 164.8 (6.6) | 164.9 (6.6) | 165.2 (6.8) |
| BMI, kg/m² | 24.2 (4.8) | 24.7 (5) | 25.4 (5.3) | 27.1 (6.1) |
| Family history of colorectal cancer, % | 16.0 | 16.2 | 16.0 | 15.5 |
| Number of previous endoscopies | 1.6 (0.9) | 1.6 (0.9) | 1.5 (0.9) | 1.6 (0.9) |
| Time since most recent endoscopy, years | 3.6 (3.1) | 3.7 (3.1) | 3.7 (3.2) | 3.7 (3.2) |
| Reasons for endoscopy | ||||
| Screening, % | 52.9 | 52.8 | 51.3 | 49.4 |
| Symptoms, % | 44.9 | 45.2 | 46.7 | 48.3 |
| Missing, % | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.3 |
| Postmenopausal hormone use | ||||
| Pre-menopause, % | 83.9 | 83.8 | 81.7 | 81.2 |
| No prior use, % | 4.9 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 4.5 |
| Current use, % | 9.0 | 9.5 | 10.9 | 11.4 |
| Past use, % | 2.3 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 3.0 |
| History of diabetes, % | 1.4 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 5.3 |
| Ever smokers, % | 31.8 | 31.5 | 31.5 | 35.3 |
| Pack-years among prior smokers | 11.2 (8.9) | 11.7 (9.4) | 12.3 (9.9) | 13.7 (10.2) |
| Alcohol intake, g/day | 4.6 (7.1) | 3.4 (5.2) | 3 (4.8) | 3.2 (5.7) |
| Physical activity, MET-hours/week | 26 (26.1) | 22.1 (22.9) | 20.1 (20.9) | 20 (21.2) |
| Regular aspirin use, % | 11.8 | 11.4 | 11.6 | 13.0 |
| Regular non-aspirin NSAID use, % | 30.2 | 30.8 | 33.1 | 37.8 |
| Multivitamin use, % | 58.6 | 54.4 | 52.0 | 50.8 |
| Total calorie intake, kcal/day | 2136 (464) | 1833 (438) | 1680 (436) | 1665 (472) |
| Dietary intake, servings/week | ||||
| Processed meat | 1.3 (1.3) | 1.5 (1.3) | 1.6 (1.4) | 2 (2) |
| Liquor | 0.2 (0.7) | 0.2 (0.7) | 0.3 (0.8) | 0.4 (1.6) |
| Low-calorie drinks | 2.2 (3.6) | 3 (4) | 5.1 (5) | 17.1 (11.1) |
| Beer | 1.2 (2.9) | 0.6 (1.4) | 0.5 (1.1) | 0.5 (1.2) |
| Fruit juice | 7.5 (6.3) | 4.7 (3.8) | 3.3 (3) | 2.6 (2.9) |
| Legumes | 4.3 (2.8) | 2.6 (1.5) | 2 (1.4) | 1.9 (1.4) |
| Other vegetables | 10.4 (6.8) | 6.6 (3.7) | 5.2 (3.3) | 5.1 (3.6) |
| Sweets & desserts | 9.4 (8.7) | 6.6 (5) | 5.6 (4.2) | 5.8 (4.7) |
| Alternate Healthy Eating Index 2010 (without alcohol) | 47.8 (10.1) | 45.1 (9.4) | 44.1 (8.9) | 43.8 (8.5) |
Values are means (SD) for continuous variables. Percentages or Ns or both for categorical variables. Variables standardized to the age distribution of the study population.
Values of polytomous variables may not sum to 100% due to rounding
*
Not age adjusted
Abbreviations: g (gram), kcal (kilocalories), kg (kilogram), m (meters), MET (metabolic equivalent of task), NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug)