Table 1.
Age-standardized participant characteristics of person-years according to average beverage intake in adulthood among women younger than age 50 in the NHSII, 1991–2015a
| Sugar-sweetened beverages | Artificially sweetened beverages | Fruit juice | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | <1 serving/wk | ≥2 servings/d | <1 serving/wk | ≥2 servings/d | <1 serving/wk | ≥2 servings/d |
| Person-years, No. | 536 446 | 138 469 | 424 283 | 353 780 | 450 890 | 14 825 |
| Age, y | 42.0 (5.2) | 41.5 (5.5) | 41.8 (5.3) | 42.0 (5.2) | 41.9 (5.2) | 40.1 (5.6) |
| Race, white, % | 94 | 90 | 91 | 95 | 93 | 85 |
| Height, cm | 165 (6.6) | 165 (6.7) | 165 (6.7) | 165 (6.6) | 165 (6.6) | 165 (6.8) |
| BMI, kg/m² | 25.2 (5.3) | 25.5 (6.2) | 23.7 (4.8) | 26.7 (5.9) | 25.5 (5.6) | 23.6 (4.8) |
| Postmenopausal, % | 8.8 | 11 | 8.9 | 9.8 | 9.9 | 8.1 |
| Current menopausal hormone use among postmenopausal women, % | 66 | 63 | 62 | 65 | 66 | 63 |
| Family history of colorectal cancer, % | 5.8 | 5.6 | 5.7 | 6.0 | 5.8 | 4.8 |
| Screening lower endoscopy within the past 10 y, % | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.5 |
| Lower endoscopy due to other indications within the past 10 y, % | 6.5 | 8.3 | 6.8 | 7.5 | 6.9 | 6.6 |
| Ever smokers, % | 36 | 33 | 32 | 36 | 38 | 29 |
| Pack-years among ever smokers | 12.3 (9.4) | 15.5 (11.3) | 13.7 (10.5) | 13.1 (9.8) | 13.9 (10.3) | 11.6 (9.4) |
| Physical activity, MET-h/wk | 24.5 (26.4) | 19.9 (24.6) | 21.3 (24.8) | 23.2 (25.4) | 20.9 (24.1) | 29.8 (33.1) |
| Regular use of aspirin, % | 11 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 10 |
| Regular use of non-aspirin NSAIDs, % | 26 | 31 | 22 | 33 | 28 | 22 |
| Current use of multivitamins, % | 47 | 42 | 47 | 45 | 41 | 52 |
| Dietary intake | ||||||
| Alcohol, g/d | 3.7 (6.3) | 2.3 (5.2) | 2.8 (5.6) | 3.6 (6.3) | 3.2 (6.1) | 3.1 (6.4) |
| Red and processed meat, servings/wk | 5.5 (3.7) | 8.1 (4.5) | 6.3 (4.1) | 6.8 (4.1) | 6.1 (3.9) | 6.1 (4.1) |
| Dietary fiber, g/d | 20.1 (5.6) | 14.6 (3.9) | 17.9 (5.6) | 18.4 (4.9) | 18.2 (5.7) | 18.7 (5.7) |
| Total folate, μg/d | 523 (267) | 410 (213) | 497 (267) | 478 (234) | 455 (258) | 597 (252) |
| Total calcium, mg/d | 1119 (438) | 837 (329) | 1018 (417) | 1042 (395) | 1022 (439) | 1039 (377) |
| Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010 scoreb,c | 42.4 (8.9) | 35.3 (7.5) | 40.3 (9.4) | 38.9 (8.1) | 39.2 (8.9) | 43.2 (9.5) |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; MET, metabolic equivalent of task; NHSII, Nurses’ Health Study II; NSAID, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.
Data are presented as mean (standard deviation) of person-years unless otherwise indicated. All values other than age were directly standardized to the age distribution (in 5-year intervals) of all participants.
Without sugar-sweetened beverages and alcohol.
According to the predefined intake criteria for 11 dietary components (e.g. fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes, red and processed meat, sugar-sweetened beverages, sodium, alcohol, polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega-3 fatty acids, and trans fatty acids), a score ranging from 0 to 10 was given to each component, yielding a total score ranging from 0 to 110. A higher score reflects better diet quality.