Table 1.
Baseline general characteristics of participants by total flavonoid consumption
| Antioxidant consumption | P value | |||||
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q5 | ||
| Men, n=6327 | ||||||
| Cases/person-years | 80/5103.00 | 74/5060.60 | 60/4995.40 | 71/5110.50 | 47/5182.60 | |
| Age (years) | 54.45±8.64 | 54.97±8.51 | 54.20±8.37 | 54.55±8.32 | 54.89±7.97 | 0.0758 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 24.07±2.74 | 24.19±2.73 | 24.21±2.71 | 24.31±2.65 | 24.32±2.58 | 0.1348 |
| Smoking status (%) | <0.0001 | |||||
| Never | 357 (28.22) | 404 (31.91) | 395 (31.27) | 373 (29.56) | 426 (33.84) | |
| Past | 451 (35.65) | 516 (40.76) | 549 (43.47) | 586 (46.43) | 575 (45.67) | |
| Current | 457 (36.13) | 346 (27.33) | 319 (25.26) | 303 (24.01) | 258 (20.49) | |
| Educational level (%) | <0.0001 | |||||
| Under middle school | 382 (30.32) | 297 (23.52) | 244 (19.40) | 186 (14.77) | 135 (10.69) | |
| High school | 503 (39.92) | 521 (41.25) | 492 (39.11) | 504 (40.03) | 422 (33.41) | |
| College or above | 375 (29.76) | 445 (35.23) | 522 (41.49) | 569 (45.19) | 706 (55.90) | |
| Physical activity (%) | <0.0001 | |||||
| Inactive | 1070 (84.65) | 1024 (80.95) | 999 (79.03) | 976 (77.28) | 896 (70.94) | |
| Active | 194 (15.35) | 241 (19.05) | 265 (20.97) | 287 (22.72) | 367 (29.06) | |
| Current alcohol consumption (%) | 0.2578 | |||||
| No | 313 (24.74) | 337 (26.62) | 342 (27.04) | 340 (26.86) | 364 (28.77) | |
| Yes | 952 (75.26) | 929 (73.38) | 923 (72.96) | 926 (73.14) | 901 (71.23) | |
| Total energy intake (kcal/day) | 1624.56±401.00 | 1764.89±417.55 | 1842.23±431.57 | 1926.29±442.88 | 2110.85±499.16 | <0.0001 |
| Carbohydrate (E%) | 72.51±7.71 | 71.63±7.10 | 71.00±7.33 | 70.49±6.88 | 70.07±7.09 | <0.0001 |
| Protein (E%) | 12.99±2.41 | 13.33±2.12 | 13.52±2.25 | 13.79±2.26 | 13.97±2.37 | <0.0001 |
| Fat (E%) | 14.50±5.73 | 15.04±5.33 | 15.47±5.48 | 15.73±5.07 | 15.96±5.15 | <0.0001 |
| Dietary fibre intake (g/day) | 3.84±1.12 | 4.72±1.24 | 5.28±1.33 | 5.91±1.50 | 7.42±2.14 | <0.0001 |
| Total flavonoids (mg VCE/day) | 58.16±15.38 | 97.92±10.58 | 135.76±11.78 | 185.20±18.17 | 299.44±77.77 | <0.0001 |
| Anthocyanidins | 11.73±5.14 | 20.53±6.74 | 28.17±9.84 | 37.83±13.24 | 62.90±28.55 | <0.0001 |
| Isoflavones | 8.63±4.74 | 11.56±6.30 | 12.24±6.53 | 13.16±6.86 | 15.96±9.48 | <0.0001 |
| Proanthocyanidins | 23.59±9.01 | 41.24±10.74 | 59.17±14.68 | 80.74±21.27 | 135.10±47.83 | <0.0001 |
| Flavonols | 7.50±4.38 | 10.58±6.08 | 13.18±6.82 | 16.78±9.23 | 24.31±16.28 | <0.0001 |
| Flavones | 0.29±0.15 | 0.45±0.18 | 0.60±0.22 | 0.79±0.29 | 1.19±0.49 | <0.0001 |
| Flavanones | 1.80±1.52 | 3.20±1.96 | 4.56±2.74 | 6.01±3.76 | 10.29±6.33 | <0.0001 |
| Flavan-3-ols | 4.63±4.40 | 10.35±9.70 | 17.84±15.94 | 29.88±23.91 | 49.69±37.80 | <0.0001 |
| TAC (mg VCE/day) | 113.96±32.02 | 185.25±30.65 | 252.44±37.18 | 343.26±51.65 | 542.84±149.10 | <0.0001 |
| Women, n=14 267 | ||||||
| Cases/person-years | 89/11 021.20 | 82/11 303.30 | 76/11 322.20 | 59/11 526.80 | 54/11 650.80 | |
| Age (years) | 52.64±8.04 | 52.31±7.84 | 52.19±7.68 | 52.01±7.23 | 52.18±7.02 | 0.0832 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 23.44±3.05 | 23.40±2.93 | 23.32±2.85 | 23.27±2.80 | 23.19±2.72 | 0.8879 |
| Smoking status (%) | <0.0001 | |||||
| Never | 2746 (96.32) | 2784 (97.72) | 2788 (97.82) | 2806 (98.39) | 2768 (97.23) | |
| Past | 31 (1.09) | 21 (0.74) | 24 (0.84) | 21 (0.74) | 35 (1.23) | |
| Current | 74 (2.60) | 44 (1.54) | 38 (1.33) | 25 (0.88) | 44 (1.55) | |
| Educational level (%) | <0.0001 | |||||
| Under middle school | 1150 (40.41) | 977 (34.33) | 901 (31.74) | 760 (26.73) | 625 (22.01) | |
| High school | 1236 (43.43) | 1305 (45.85) | 1297 (45.69) | 1368 (48.12) | 1341 (47.23) | |
| College or above | 460 (16.16) | 564 (19.82) | 641 (22.58) | 715 (25.15) | 873 (30.75) | |
| Physical activity (%) | <0.0001 | |||||
| Inactive | 2449 (85.96) | 2355 (82.63) | 2294 (80.46) | 2239 (78.48) | 2120 (74.49) | |
| Active | 400 (14.04) | 495 (17.37) | 557 (19.54) | 614 (21.52) | 726 (25.51) | |
| Current alcohol consumption (%) | 0.2756 | |||||
| No | 1900 (66.60) | 1967 (68.92) | 1932 (67.72) | 1928 (67.55) | 1966 (68.91) | |
| Yes | 953 (33.40) | 887 (31.08) | 921 (32.28) | 926 (32.45) | 887 (31.09) | |
| Total energy intake (kcal/day) | 1429.83±392.78 | 1577.31±420.56 | 1659.22±437.45 | 1761.14±460.69 | 1947.92±497.29 | <0.0001 |
| Carbohydrate (E%) | 71.87±8.06 | 71.25±7.93 | 70.67±7.63 | 70.30±7.36 | 69.97±7.30 | <0.0001 |
| Protein (E%) | 13.39±2.47 | 13.59±2.42 | 13.76±2.38 | 13.89±2.33 | 14.01±2.43 | <0.0001 |
| Fat (E%) | 14.74±6.03 | 15.16±5.91 | 15.57±5.65 | 15.81±5.45 | 16.02±5.33 | <0.0001 |
| Dietary fibre intake (g/day) | 3.80±1.11 | 4.61±1.21 | 5.13±1.30 | 5.97±1.52 | 7.38±2.10 | <0.0001 |
| Total flavonoids (mg VCE/day) | 71.44±17.73 | 116.97±11.49 | 159.39±13.42 | 213.52±19.24 | 333.98±94.24 | <0.0001 |
| Anthocyanidins | 15.24±6.21 | 25.89±8.12 | 35.35±11.02 | 46.82±14.12 | 74.77±32.62 | <0.0001 |
| Isoflavones | 8.63±4.48 | 10.67±5.74 | 11.70±6.42 | 13.28±7.25 | 15.09±9.07 | <0.0001 |
| Proanthocyanidins | 31.11±10.57 | 52.62±11.64 | 73.61±15.79 | 101.51±21.34 | 161.00±54.19 | <0.0001 |
| Flavonols | 8.09±4.63 | 11.18±5.92 | 13.54±7.50 | 16.94±9.30 | 24.05±16.19 | <0.0001 |
| Flavones | 0.35±0.18 | 0.55±0.23 | 0.71±0.28 | 0.89±0.34 | 1.31±0.62 | <0.0001 |
| Flavanones | 2.56±1.91 | 4.37±2.55 | 5.98±3.19 | 7.70±3.84 | 12.62±8.04 | <0.0001 |
| Flavan-3-ols | 5.45±4.85 | 11.68±10 | 18.51±14.74 | 26.38±20.18 | 45.13±36.98 | <0.0001 |
| TAC (mg VCE/day) | 135.61±36.42 | 216.26±31.08 | 289.3±38.71 | 380.21±51.07 | 587.77±176.53 | <0.0001 |
Values are presented as means±SDs or numbers (%). P values were calculated using a generalised linear model for continuous variables and χ2 test for categorical variables. P<0.05 is shown in bold.
Total flavonoid intake was the sum of anthocyanidins, isoflavones, proanthocyanidins, flavonols, flavones, flavanones and flavan-3-ols.
Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was obtained by combining the individual antioxidant capacity of each antioxidant derived from every food item.
BMI, body mass index; VCE, vitamin C equivalents.