Table 1. Selected baseline demographic, socioeconomic, and health characteristics by tertiles of plant-based diet index in the Jackson Heart Study.
| Characteristic | Overall plant-based diet index | p-Value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tertile 1 n = 1,237 (34.0%) |
Tertile 2 n = 1,258 (34.6%) |
Tertile 3 n = 1,140 (31.4%) |
||
| Median index score (range) | 48 (30–51) | 55 (52–57) | 61 (58–76) | |
| Age, years | 51.9 (12.8) | 54.2 (12.6) | 55.5 (12.1) | <0.001 |
| Female | 52.5 | 67.8 | 72.5 | <0.001 |
| Total energy intake, kcal/day | 2,525 (899) | 2,142 (916) | 2,103 (836) | <0.001 |
| Educational attainment | 0.021 | |||
| Less than high school/GED | 16.2 | 15.1 | 14.2 | |
| High school or GED completion | 21.1 | 20.4 | 16.8 | |
| Attended college or trade school | 62.7 | 64.5 | 68.9 | |
| Smoking status | <0.001 | |||
| Current smoker, percent | 14.4 | 10.6 | 8.4 | |
| Former smoker, percent | 20.0 | 15.8 | 17.1 | |
| Physical activity index* | 2.1 (0.8) | 2.1 (0.8) | 2.2 (0.8) | 0.01 |
| Alcohol intake, g/day | 6.4 (18.0) | 3.1 (9.2) | 1.9 (6.3) | <0.001 |
| Margarine intake, servings/day | 1.4 (1.7) | 1.2 (1.8) | 1.2 (1.7) | 0.052 |
| Fasting total cholesterol, mmol/L | 5.1 (1.0) | 5.1 (1.0) | 5.3 (1.0) | 0.001 |
| Hypertension† | 49.7 | 53.3 | 54.3 | 0.059 |
| Diabetes‡ | 20.9 | 18.2 | 17.1 | 0.053 |
| eGFR, ml/min/1.73 m2§ | 98.3 (20.5) | 95.5 (20.5) | 94.5 (19.7) | <0.001 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 32.2 (7.4) | 31.9 (7.3) | 31.1 (6.8) | <0.001 |
| HRT medication use, percent of females | 14.4 | 19.9 | 19.5 | 0.507 |
| Statin medication use | 9.1 | 11.1 | 13.2 | 0.006 |
| Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg | 127 (16) | 127 (17) | 127 (17) | 0.613 |
| HbA1c, mmol/mol | 41 (13.1) | 40 (12.0) | 40 (12.0) | 0.141 |
| Life’s Simple 7 total score|| | 6.9 (2.1) | 7.2 (2.0) | 7.3 (2.1) | <0.001 |
Values are mean (standard deviation) for continuous variables and percent for categorical variables, unless otherwise noted. Statistical differences by tertiles of plant-based diet index were tested using analysis of variance for continuous variables and chi-squared tests for categorical variables, with p < 0.05 denoting statistical significance.
*Physical activity index is a measure from 0 (low) to 5 (high) of activity in daily living.
†Hypertension was defined as having blood pressure ≥ 140/90 mm Hg or use of blood-pressure-lowering medication within 2 weeks prior to the clinic visit.
‡Diabetes was defined as having fasting glucose ≥ 7.0 mmol/L, having HbA1c ≥ 6.5%, or use of diabetic medication within 2 weeks prior to the clinic visit.
§eGFR was assessed using the 4-variable Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation.
||Life’s Simple 7 total score is a composite score describing cardiovascular health ranging from 0 to 14 that sums American Heart Association poor (0), intermediate (1), or ideal (2) health scores for smoking, diet, physical activity level, BMI, blood pressure, total cholesterol, and fasting plasma glucose.
BMI, body mass index; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; GED, General Educational Development; HRT, hormone replacement therapy; HbA1c, hemoglobin A1c.