Table 2.
Characteristics of the study population according to tertiles of UPF consumption.
| Tertiles of UPF consumption (% kcal/day from total energy intake) |
T1 (N = 215) 7.177 ±2.349 |
T2 (N = 217) 13.094 ±1.572 |
T3 (N = 213) 21.434 ±4.956 |
p value& |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women | 103 (47.9) | 99 (45.6) | 102 (47.9) | 0.861 |
| Recruiting center | 0.048 | |||
| Alicante | 51 (23.7) | 49 (22.6) | 45 (20.7) | |
| Barcelona IMIM | 26 (12.1) | 21 (9.7) | 19 (8.9) | |
| Reus | 119 (55.3) | 124 (57.1) | 110 (51.6) | |
| Valencia | 19 (8.8) | 23 (10.6) | 41 (19.2) | |
| Smoking habits | 0.659 | |||
| Ex-smoker | 81 (37.7) | 87 (40.1) | 84 (39.4) | |
| Never smoked | 104 (48.4) | 108 (49.8) | 98 (46.0) | |
| Smoker | 30 (14.0) | 22 (10.1) | 31 (14.6) | |
| Education | 0.726 | |||
| NA | 1 (0.5) | 1 (0.5) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Higher education | 40 (18.6) | 45 (20.7) | 32 (15.0) | |
| Primary school | 113 (52.6) | 109 (50.2) | 119 (55.9) | |
| Secundary school | 61 (28.4) | 62 (28.6) | 62 (29.1) | |
| Civil status | 0.724 | |||
| NA | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.5) | |
| Divorced | 14 (6.5) | 10 (4.6) | 17 (8.0) | |
| Married | 161 (74.9) | 174 (80.2) | 160 (75.1) | |
| Separated | 7 (3.3) | 7 (3.2) | 6 (2.8) | |
| Single | 8 (3.7) | 9 (4.1) | 11 (5.2) | |
| Widowed | 25 (11.6) | 17 (7.8) | 18 (8.5) | |
| BMI category | 0.738 | |||
| Overweight (27–29.9 kg/m2) | 54 (25.1) | 55 (25.3) | 49 (23.0) | |
| Obese (30–39.9 kg/m2) | 102 (47.4) | 95 (43.8) | 107 (50.2) | |
| Severe obese (≥ 40 kg/m2) | 59 (27.4) | 67 (30.9) | 57 (26.8) | |
| Hypertension | 204 (94.0) | 206 (94.9) | 198 (93.0) | 0.692 |
| Diabetes | 60 (27.9) | 48 (22.1) | 53 (24.9) | 0.381 |
| Hypercholesterolemia | 146 (67.9) | 142 (65.4) | 139 (65.3) | 0.810 |
| Age (years) | 65.7 ± 4.9 | 64.8 ± 4.9* | 64.5 ± 4.8* | 0.023 |
| Body weight (kg) | 86.8 ± 13.1 | 87.2 ± 13.3 | 87.1 ± 12.9 | 0.943 |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 107.8 ± 10.5 | 107.7 ± 9.7 | 107.5 ± 9.9 | 0.962 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 32.8 ± 3.5 | 32.9 ± 3.6 | 33.0 ± 3.5 | 0.906 |
| FPG (mg/dL) | 116.7 ± 22.2 | 116.9 ± 28.4 | 112.3 ± 21.6 | 0.087 |
| Insulin (mU/mL) | 19.8 ± 12.2 | 19.9 ± 11.7 | 19.2 ± 9.7 | 0.774 |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dL) | 200.4 ± 37.9 | 199.8 ± 37.9 | 201.4 ± 35.8 | 0.900 |
| HDL cholesterol (mg/dL) | 49.4 ± 10.4 | 49.9 ± 11.9 | 49.3 ± 12.1 | 0.853 |
| LDL cholesterol (mg/dL) | 122.2 ± 34.1 | 117.6 ± 30.8 | 121.8 ± 31.0 | 0.268 |
| Triglycerides (mg/dL) | 152.8 ± 74.0 | 164.0 ± 93.2 | 167.4 ± 111.9 | 0.245 |
| Glycated hemoglobin (%) | 6.1 ± 0.8 | 6.1 ± 0.9 | 6.0 ± 0.8 | 0.668 |
| UPF energy intake (kcal/day) | 171.6 ± 70.6 | 329.6 ± 77.3* | 578.0 ± 234.3*† | < 0.001 |
| Total energy intake (kcal/day) | 2363.4 ± 482.1 | 2516.1 ± 499.1* | 2677.2 ± 482.1*† | < 0.001 |
| Adherence to MedDiet score | 8.7 ± 2.4 | 8.1 ± 2.6* | 7.7 ± 2.3* | < 0.001 |
UPF, ultra-processed food; NA, not available, BMI, body mass index; FPG, fasting plasma glucose; HDL, high density lipoprotein; HDL, low density lipoprotein. Data expressed in number (percentage) for categorical variables and mean ± standard deviation for numerical variables.
&
Differences across tertiles calculated with Pearson's chi square or one-way ANOVA, differences between tertiles calculated with Pearson's chi square or Student's t-test.
*
p < 0.05 vs. T1;
†
p < 0.05 vs. T2.