Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of participants according to absolute intakes of high- and low-pesticide-residue fruits and vegetables.
| High-Pesticide-Residue Fruit and Vegetable Intake (servings/day) |
Low-Pesticide-Residue Fruit and Vegetable Intake (servings/day) |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | <1 | ≥2–< 3 | ≥4 | <1 | ≥2–< 3 | ≥4 |
|
| ||||||
| Nurses’ Health Study (1998) | ||||||
| Number of participants | 20,267 | 10,096 | 1,512 | 7,821 | 17,717 | 4,626 |
| High-pesticide-residue FVs (servings/day) | 0.6(0.2) | 2.4(0.3) | 5.2(1.4) | 0.8(0.7) | 1.7(0.9) | 2.6(1.4) |
| Low-pesticide-residue FVs (servings/day) | 1.6(0.9) | 2.8(1.2) | 3.8(1.9) | 0.7(0.2) | 2.4(0.3) | 5.0(1.3) |
| Total FVs (servings/day) | 2.9(1.2) | 6.4(1.5) | 10.7(2.9) | 2.2(1.0) | 5.1(1.3) | 9.0(2.5) |
| Age (y) | 63.6(7.2) | 64.0(6.9) | 62.8(6.5) | 64.0(7.3) | 63.8(7.0) | 63.5(6.7) |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 26.6(5.3) | 26.1(4.9) | 25.4(4.9) | 26.5(5.2) | 26.3(5.0) | 26.0(4.9) |
| Postmenopause (%) | 93.4 | 93.3 | 94.1 | 93.2 | 93.2 | 93.6 |
| White (%) | 97.7 | 97.7 | 96.9 | 97.1 | 97.9 | 96.8 |
| Physical activity (MET/wk) | 13.2(17.9) | 22.8(24.7) | 30.4(30.6) | 13.0(18.1) | 18.9(21.9) | 25.1(27.5) |
| Family history of cancer (%) | 21.5 | 23.0 | 23.7 | 21.0 | 22.2 | 22.7 |
| Family history of cardiovascular disease (%) | 6.6 | 7.0 | 6.8 | 6.8 | 6.4 | 6.7 |
| Never smoker (%) | 43.5 | 50.1 | 48.6 | 42.0 | 48.0 | 51.0 |
| No of pack-years among ever smokers | 15.9 (21.8) | 9.9(16.3) | 9.7 (15.5) | 17.3(22.7) | 11.6(18.0) | 10.4(17.2) |
| Current hormone therapy use (%) | 45.9 | 49.4 | 48.1 | 44.5 | 48.7 | 48.3 |
| Hypertension (%) | 39.6 | 38.1 | 35.3 | 37.3 | 38.9 | 41.7 |
| Hypercholesterolemia (%) | 54.7 | 53.3 | 50.2 | 54.1 | 53.8 | 53.5 |
| Total energy intake (kcal/day) | 1,527(482) | 1,932(521) | 2,166(568) | 1,373(452) | 1,807(477) | 2,227(538) |
| Alcohol intake (g/day) | 5.2(9.7) | 5.1(8.4) | 4.5(7.7) | 4.5(9.4) | 5.5(9.2) | 5.5(9.2) |
| Modified AHEI (score)* | 38.1(8.3) | 40.4(8.5) | 41.9(8.8) | 41.4(8.6) | 38.2(8.3) | 37.9(8.0) |
| Nurses’ Health Study II (1999) | ||||||
| Number of participants | 33,222 | 10,669 | 1,921 | 13,978 | 20,124 | 4,939 |
| High-pesticide-residue FVs (servings/day) | 0.6(0.3) | 2.4(0.4) | 5.4(1.6) | 0.7(0.6) | 1.6(0.9) | 2.6(1.6) |
| Low-pesticide-residue FVs (servings/day) | 1.5(0.9) | 2.8(1.2) | 3.8(2.1) | 0.7(0.2) | 2.4(0.3) | 5.1(1.3) |
| Total FVs (servings/day) | 2.5(1.2) | 6.1(1.6) | 10.5(3.4) | 1.8(0.9) | 4.8(1.3) | 8.9(2.9) |
| Age (y) | 44.4(4.7) | 45.0(4.6) | 45.1(4.6) | 44.5(4.7) | 44.7(4.6) | 45.0(4.6) |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 26.7(6.3) | 25.9(5.7) | 25.4(5.7) | 26.9(6.4) | 26.1(5.9) | 26.0(6.0) |
| Postmenopause (%) | 22.2 | 22.0 | 21.7 | 23.1 | 21.3 | 21.8 |
| White (%) | 96.2 | 97.1 | 95.4 | 95.4 | 97.2 | 95.1 |
| Physical activity (MET/wk) | 14.7(19.2) | 23.3(24.3) | 29.8(31.2) | 14.3(19.4) | 19.9(22.7) | 26.0(30.0) |
| Family history of cancer (%) | 19.3 | 20.0 | 21.9 | 19.4 | 19.8 | 19.5 |
| Family history of cardiovascular disease (%) | 33.9 | 32.8 | 33.1 | 33.9 | 32.7 | 33.1 |
| Never smoker (%) | 65.3 | 67.1 | 64.7 | 64.1 | 67.3 | 68.7 |
| No of pack-years among ever smokers | 5.2(9.8) | 3.8(7.5) | 4.1(7.6) | 5.7(10.4) | 4.0(8.0) | 3.7(7.6) |
| Current hormone therapy use (%) | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.1 |
| Hypertension (%) | 13.2 | 12.5 | 11.1 | 13.2 | 12.8 | 13.3 |
| Hypercholesterolemia (%) | 25.6 | 22.8 | 22.9 | 24.9 | 23.8 | 22.7 |
| Total energy intake (kcal/day) | 1,632(521) | 2,086(542) | 2,270(578) | 1,458(475) | 1,959(509) | 2,375(542) |
| Alcohol intake (g/day) | 3.7(9.1) | 4.2(6.8) | 3.9(7.2) | 3.2(7.2) | 4.3(7.1) | 4.3(7.5) |
| Modified AHEI (score)* | 37.4(9.1) | 40.2(9.7) | 42.9(10.0) | 39.9(9.2) | 37.8(9.4) | 37.7(9.3) |
| Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1998) | ||||||
| Number of participants | 7,763 | 4,106 | 845 | 2,394 | 7,219 | 2,576 |
| High-pesticide-residue FVs (servings/day) | 0.6(0.2) | 2.4(0.3) | 5.4(1.5) | 0.9(0.7) | 1.6(0.9) | 2.6(1.6) |
| Low-pesticide-residue FVs (servings/day) | 1.8(1.0) | 3.0(1.3) | 4.0(2.0) | 0.7(0.2) | 2.5(0.3) | 5.2(1.3) |
| Total FVs (servings/day) | 3.1(1.3) | 6.6(1.6) | 11.2(2.9) | 2.2(1.0) | 5.1(1.3) | 9.2(2.7) |
| Age (y) | 62.1(8.5) | 64.3(8.7) | 64.5(8.9) | 62.2(8.5) | 63.4(8.7) | 63.2(8.7) |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 26.2(3.4) | 25.6(3.4) | 25.5(3.5) | 26.3(3.5) | 25.9(3.4) | 25.8(3.6) |
| White (%) | 90.4 | 91.6 | 92.5 | 90.1 | 91.7 | 90.6 |
| Physical activity (MET/wk) | 28.3(33.5) | 43.7(44.2) | 54.6(51.4) | 26.9(35.8) | 36.6(38.8) | 48.0(48.5) |
| Family history of cancer (%) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 12.0 | 8.6 | 11.0 | 10.1 |
| Family history of cardiovascular disease (%) | 9.5 | 9.6 | 9.4 | 9.8 | 10.2 | 8.6 |
| Never smoker (%) | 50.8 | 57.7 | 62.6 | 50.4 | 55.6 | 61.1 |
| No of pack-years among ever smokers | 13.3(19.2) | 8.7(14.3) | 7.7(12.7) | 13.7(19.3) | 10.2(16.0) | 8.5(14.8) |
| Hypertension (%) | 33.0 | 29.6 | 28.7 | 31.1 | 31.0 | 32.1 |
| Hypercholesterolemia (%) | 45.5 | 42.5 | 41.6 | 45.1 | 43.5 | 41.0 |
| Total energy intake (kcal/day) | 1,797(558) | 2,198(610) | 2,484(646) | 1,607(513) | 2,046(562) | 2,490(643) |
| Alcohol intake (g/day) | 12.0(15.7) | 10.5(12.8) | 9.3(11.8) | 11.0(15.7) | 11.5(14.0) | 10.5(12.9) |
| Modified AHEI (Score)* | 32.3(8.0) | 37.0(8.0) | 40.3(8.7) | 34.8(8.9) | 34.4(8.1) | 35.8(8.0) |
Values are means (SD) or percentages. All variables except age are age-standardized.
Abbreviations: Modified AHEI, Modified Alternate Healthy Eating Index score; BMI, body mass index; METs: metabolic equivalent tasks; FV: fruits and vegetables.
*
Modified AHEI: AHEI-2010, but excluding criteria for intakes of fruits and vegetables and alcohol.
METs are defined as the ratio of caloric needed per kilogram of body weight per hour of physical activity divided by the caloric needed per kilogram of body weight at rest.