Table 2.
Baseline anthropometric indices, lifestyle habits, and symptoms of depression and anxiety of the study population according to trajectories of adherence to the Mediterranean diet (n = 2583).
| Mediterranean Diet Trajectories | p-Value * | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low–Low (n = 687) |
Low–High (n = 233) |
High–Low (n = 1179) |
High–High (n = 484) |
||
| Anthropometric indices | |||||
| BMI, kg/m2 | 29.5 ± 4.2 a | 29.9 ± 4.2 a | 25.6 ± 3.3 b | 22.4 ± 2.5 c | <0.001 |
| BMI status, n (%) | |||||
| underweight normal-weight overweight obese |
1 (0.1) a 69 (10.0) a 354 (51.5) a 263 (38.4) a |
0 (0.0) a 22 (9.4) a 108 (46.4) a 103 (44.2) a |
13 (1.1) a 488 (41.4) b 581 (49.3) a 97 (8.2) b |
21 (4.3) b 396 (81.8) c 64 (13.3) b 3 (0.6) c |
<0.001 |
| WC, cm | |||||
| males females |
102.8 ± 11.7 a 97.0 ± 14.5 a |
103.8 ± 11.2 a 99.4 ± 12.4 a |
93.3 ± 11.2 b 83.2 ± 11.8 b |
83.9 ± 9.2 c 76.3 ± 9.8 c |
<0.001 <0.001 |
| Increased WC, n (%) | 460 (67.0) a | 169 (72.5) a | 545 (46.3) b | 109 (22.6) c | <0.001 |
| WHtR | 0.60 ± 0.07 a | 0.60 ± 0.07 a | 0.52 ± 0.07 b | 0.46 ± 0.06 c | <0.001 |
| Central obesity, n (%) | 513 (74.7) a | 191 (82.0) a | 656 (62.1) b | 94 (19.4) c | <0.001 |
| Lifestyle habits | |||||
| Current smokers, n (%) | 250 (36.4) a | 91 (39.1) a,b | 520 (44.1) b | 223 (46.2) b | 0.002 |
| Ever smokers, n (%) | 373 (54.3) | 145 (62.2) | 644 (54.7) | 259 (53.6) | 0.140 |
| Pack-years | 540 (223, 900) a | 600 (300, 1020) a | 320 (143, 600) b | 180 (60, 375) c | <0.001 |
| Energy intake, kcal/d | 2499 ± 975 a | 2385 ± 883 a,b | 2424 ± 951 a | 2109 ± 879 b | 0.001 |
| MET-min/week | 231 (149, 1519) a | 231 (149, 1377) a | 198 (149, 735) a | 330 (149, 1406) b | 0.050 |
| Physical activity status, n (%) | |||||
| minimally active moderately active highly active |
415 (60.4) 107 (15.6) a 165 (24.0) |
137 (58.8) 48 (20.6) a,b 48 (20.6) |
726 (61.6) 210 (17.8) a,b 243 (20.6) |
278 (57.5) 113 (23.3) b 93 (19.2) |
0.022 |
| Depression and anxiety symptoms | |||||
| ZDRS (20–80) | 34.5 ± 7.2 a,b | 33.1 ± 5.5 a | 35.6 ± 7.8 b | 36.2 ± 7.5 b | 0.028 |
| STAI (20–80) | 40.6 ± 11.6 | 38.8 ± 11.4 | 41.2 ± 11.4 | 40.6 ± 12.5 | 0.524 |
Data are presented as absolute (relative) frequency for categorical variables, mean ± standard deviation for normally distributed numerical variables and median (1st, 3rd quartile) for skewed numerical variables. * p-values for comparisons between Mediterranean diet trajectories, as derived from the Pearson’s chi-squared test for categorical variables, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) for normally distributed numerical variables or the Kruskal–Wallis signed rank-test for skewed numerical variables. a–c Different superscripts indicate significant between-group differences (p-value < 0.050) according to post hoc pairwise comparisons adjusted by the Bonferroni correction for multiple tests. BMI, body mass index; STAI, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; WC, waist circumference; WHtR, waist-to-height ratio; ZDRS, Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale.