TABLE 1.
Baseline characteristics of women in the Nurses Health Study
| Plant-based diet index (PDI) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristicsa | Quintile 1 (n = 5,575) | Quintile 2 (n = 5,970) | Quintile 3 (n = 5,079) | Quintile 4 (n = 5,899) | Quintile 5 (n = 5,188) |
| Age, y | 44.8 (4.3) | 44.8 (4.2) | 44.9 (4.3) | 45 (4.3) | 45.1 (4.2) |
| Height, cm | 164.1 (6.2) | 164.1 (6.1) | 164.2 (6.2) | 164 (6.2) | 164.3 (6.1) |
| Oral contraceptive useb | 34.1 (45.8) | 32.8 (43.8) | 31 (42.6) | 30.8 (42) | 28.4 (40.3) |
| History of high blood cholesterol, % | 91 | 91 | 92 | 91 | 91 |
| History of hypertension, % | 92 | 93 | 93 | 93 | 94 |
| Parity, % | |||||
| 1 or 2 kids | 41 | 40 | 39 | 39 | 40 |
| 3 or 4 kids | 43 | 44 | 45 | 45 | 46 |
| > 5 kids | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| Breast feedingc | 0.4 (0.5) | 0.4 (0.5) | 0.4 (0.5) | 0.4 (0.5) | 0.5 (0.5) |
| Smoking status, % | |||||
| Former | 33 | 31 | 32 | 31 | 32 |
| Current, 1-14 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Current 15-24 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Current 25+ | 10 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 |
| Pack yearsb | 11 (14.4) | 9.5 (13.6) | 9.4 (13.3) | 8.2 (12.4) | 7.4 (11.9) |
| BMI, kg/m2, % | |||||
| <21 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 22 |
| 21-22.9 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 24 | 25 |
| 23-24.9 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| 25-29.9 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 21 |
| 30+ | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 9 |
| Physical activity, MET-h/wk | 13.2 (19.6) | 13.4 (20.4) | 14.1 (22.9) | 14.5 (22.5) | 15.6 (24.8) |
| Total caloric intake, kcal/d | 1,486 (453) | 1,648 (486) | 1,770 (485) | 1,905 (512) | 2,108 (516) |
| Vitamin D no supplement, IU | 200.6 (107.6) | 187 (96.8) | 178.3 (91) | 168.3 (80) | 155.5 (71.2) |
| Vitamin D with supplement, IU | 324.4 (269.8) | 297.1 (233.2) | 287.6 (222.8) | 274.5 (209.6) | 263 (192.4) |
| PDI | 45 (2.9) | 50.6 (1.1) | 54 (0.8) | 57.4 (1.1) | 62.9 (2.8) |
| uPDI | 55.7 (7.5) | 56.2 (8.1) | 56.1 (8.2) | 55.7 (8) | 55 (7.3) |
| hPDI | 51.3 (6.9) | 52.4 (7.3) | 52.8 (7.4) | 53.6 (7.1) | 55.4 (6.6) |
Values are means (SD) for continuous variables; percentages for categorical variables are standardized to the age distribution of the study population.
IU, international unit; MET, metabolic equivalent task.
aAge-adjusted and time period.
bIncludes among users only.
cIncludes parous women only.