Skip to main content

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of EPIC-Oxford participants by diet group

From: Vegetarian and vegan diets and risks of total and site-specific fractures: results from the prospective EPIC-Oxford study

 

Diet group

Characteristics, mean (SD) or n (%)

Meat eaters (n = 29,380)

Fish eaters (n = 8037)

Vegetarians (n = 15,499)

Vegans (n = 1982)

Socio-demographic

 Age, years (SD)

50.1 (13.1)

42.7 (13.3)

40.0 (13.5)

38.9 (13.6)

 Sex, women (%)

22,591 (76.9)

6614 (82.3)

11,911 (76.9)

1266 (63.9)

 Top socio-economic quartile (%)a

6947 (27.4)

1534 (21.9)

2952 (21.7)

308 (17.6)

 Higher education (%)

8198 (30.8)

3457 (45.3)

6289 (42.7)

797 (42.8)

 White ethnicity (%)

28,334 (98.6)

7717 (97.8)

14,764 (97.4)

1848 (97.0)

Lifestyle

 Current smokers (%)

3623 (12.4)

805 (10.1)

1554 (10.1)

212 (10.8)

 Alcohol consumption, g/day (SD)

9.7 (12.6)

9.8 (12.2)

9.2 (12.6)

8.3 (13.5)

 Moderate or high physical activity (%)

7516 (30.7)

2795 (39.4)

5400 (39.0)

807 (45.3)

 Dietary supplement use (%)b

15,941 (55.4)

5046 (64.3)

8660 (56.9)

1008 (51.9)

Health characteristics and medical history

 Body mass index, kg/m2 (SD)

24.5 (4.0)

23.0 (3.4)

22.9 (3.5)

22.1 (3.0)

 < 20 kg/m2 (%)

2365 (8.3)

1178 (15.1)

2508 (16.8)

456 (23.8)

 ≥ 25 kg/m2 (%)

10,407 (36.6)

1602 (20.6)

3082 (20.7)

268 (14.0)

 Height in men, cm (SD)

177.6 (7.0)

178.1 (6.7)

178.1 (7.0)

178.1 (6.9)

 Height in women, cm (SD)

163.7 (6.7)

164.6 (6.8)

164.4 (6.8)

164.5 (6.9)

 Premenopausal (%)c

9625 (44.0)

4410 (68.2)

8856 (75.7)

940 (75.6)

 Postmenopausal (%)c

10,106 (46.2)

1570 (24.3)

2107 (18.0)

235 (18.9)

 Hormone replacement therapy use (%)c

5945 (26.7)

805 (12.3)

992 (8.4)

69 (5.6)

 One or more children (%)c

16,856 (75.2)

3524 (53.8)

5215 (44.3)

431 (34.4)

Dietary information

 Energy, kJ/day (SD)

8286 (2246)

7940 (2208)

7866 (2213)

7342 (2315)

 Dietary calcium, mg/day (SD)

1005 (314)

1033 (349)

1030 (369)

591 (237)

 Protein, % energy (SD)

17.0 (3.0)

14.7 (2.4)

13.6 (2.1)

13.3 (2.3)

  1. Estimates shown are mean (SD) or numbers (%), as stated in left column. Percentages were estimated excluding participants with missing responses
  2. aBased on Townsend deprivation index
  3. bDefined as regularly taking any vitamins, minerals, fish oils, fibre, or other food supplements during the last 12 months
  4. cIn women only
Back to article page

BMC Medicine

ISSN: 1741-7015

Contact us