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Table 1 Participant characteristics of the analytic sample of UK Biobank, stratified by level of MedDiet adherence according to the MEDAS continuous score

From: Mediterranean diet adherence is associated with lower dementia risk, independent of genetic predisposition: findings from the UK Biobank prospective cohort study

 

Total

(n = 60,298)

MEDAS continuous

low (0–5.3)

(n = 19,393, 32.2%)

MEDAS continuous

medium (> 5.3–6.8)

(n = 20,120, 33.4%)

MEDAS continuous

High (> 6.8)

(n = 20,785, 34.5%)

Age (mean ± SD), years

63.8 ± 2.7

63.9 ± 2.8

63.9 ± 2.8

63.8 ± 2.7

Sex

 Male

31,066 (51.5%)

11,252 (58%)

10,252 (51.0%)

9562 (46.0%)

 Female

29,232 (48.5%)

8141 (42.0%)

9868 (49.0%)

11,223 (54.0%)

BMIa (kg/m2)

  < 25

20,780 (34.5%)

5526 (28.5%)

6826 (33.9%)

8428 (40.5%)

 25–29.9

27,154 (45.1%)

8835 (45.6%)

9259 (46.0%)

9060 (43.6%)

  > 30

12,229 (20.3%)

4984 (25.7%)

3994 (19.9%)

3251 (15.6%)

Education

 Higher

33,291 (55.2%)

8799 (45.4%)

11,162 (55.5%)

13,330 (64.1%)

 Vocational

6143 (10.2%)

2391 (12.3%)

2036 (10.1%)

1716 (8.3%)

 Upper secondary

3377 (5.6%)

1015 (5.2%)

1132 (5.6%)

1230 (5.9%)

 Lower secondary

9270 (15.4%)

3387 (17.5%)

3161 (15.7%)

2722 (13.1%)

 Other

8217 (13.6%)

3801 (19.6%)

2629 (13.1%)

1787 (8.6%)

Socioeconomic statusb

 1 (least deprived)

14,375 (23.8%)

4279 (22.6%)

4987 (24.8%)

5009 (24.1%)

 2–4

38,142 (63.3%)

12,370 (63.8%)

12,774 (63.5%)

12,998 (62.5%)

 5 (most deprived)

7781 (12.9%)

2644 (13.6%)

2359 (11.7%)

2778 (13.4%)

Smoking status

 Never

30,686 (50.9%)

9645 (49.7%)

10,400 (51.7%)

10,641 (51.2%)

 Previous

26,157 (43.4%)

8197 (42.3%)

8725 (43.4%)

9235 (44.4%)

 Current

3455 (5.7%)

1551 (8.0%)

995 (4.9%)

909 (4.4%)

Typical sleep duration

  < 7/hours

12,402 (20.6%)

4252 (21.9%)

4088 (20.3%)

4062 (19.5%)

 7–8 h

42,813 (71%)

13,287 (68.5%)

14,346 (71.3%)

15,180 (72.0%)

  > 8 h

5083 (8.4%)

1854 (9.6%)

1686 (8.4%)

1543 (7.4%)

Physical activity levelsc

 Low (least active)

9921 (16.5%)

3786 (19.5%)

3372 (16.8%)

2763 (13.3%)

 Moderate

26,021 (43.2%)

8339 (43.0%)

8727 (43.4%)

8955 (43.1%)

 High (most active)

24,356 (40.4%)

7268 (37.5%)

8021 (39.9%)

9067 (43.6%)

Genetic risk categoryd

 Low

12,703 (21.1%)

4044 (20.9%)

4104 (20.4%)

4555 (21.9%)

 Medium

36,085 (59.8%)

11,594 (59.8%)

12,051 (59.9%)

12,440 (59.9%)

 High

11,510 (19.1%)

3755 (19.4%)

3965 (19.7%)

3790 (18.2%)

Dementia incidence

 Incident dementia

882 (1.5%)

336 (1.7%)

301 (1.5%)

245 (1.2%)

 No incident dementia

59,416 (98.5%)

19,057 (98.3%)

19,819 (98.5%)

20,540 (98.8%)

  1. aBMI data available in n = 60,163 participants (incident dementia n = 876, no incidence dementia n = 59,287)
  2. bSocioeconomic status includes categories derived from Townsend deprivation index, with quintiles 1 = low (least deprived), 2–4 = medium, 5 = high (most deprived)
  3. cSelf-reported physical activity levels according to the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)
  4. dGenetic risk category, with quintiles 1 = low, 2–4 = medium, 5 = high
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BMC Medicine

ISSN: 1741-7015

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