Table 1 Characteristics at baseline of 3405 women with invasive breast cancer in the Swedish Mammography Cohort by quartiles of vitamin C intakea
From: Vitamin C intake and breast cancer mortality in a cohort of Swedish women
Quartile of vitamin C intake (mg d−1) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
<42.9 | 42.9–65.5 | 65.6–92.4 | ⩾92.5 | |
Median vitamin C intake (mg d−1) | 32.0 | 53.7 | 78.1 | 113.6 |
Breast cancer deaths (n) | 128 | 103 | 97 | 88 |
Non-breast cancer deaths (n) | 192 | 145 | 153 | 149 |
Age at enrolment (years) | 54.1 | 52.5 | 52.6 | 52.3 |
Age at diagnosis (years) | 66.5 | 65.4 | 65.4 | 65.4 |
Post-secondary education (%) | 11.3% | 15.1% | 14.7% | 13.9% |
Married (%) | 67.6% | 73.8% | 72.9% | 69.5% |
Body mass index (kg m−2) | 25.2 | 24.9 | 24.9 | 24.7 |
Height (cm) | 164.6 | 164.4 | 164.8 | 164.9 |
Age at menarche (years) | 13.3 | 13.1 | 13.2 | 13.1 |
Nulliparous (%) | 13.7% | 13.9% | 11.4% | 12.1% |
Age at first birth among parous women (years) | 24.3 | 24.7 | 24.6 | 24.7 |
Number of children | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.3 |
Family history of breast cancer (%) | 10.5% | 11.7% | 10.8% | 11.4% |
Ever use of oral contraceptives (%) | 51.7% | 56.2% | 56.8% | 58.4% |
Ever use of postmenopausal hormones (%) | 41.6% | 48.0% | 47.8% | 48.6% |
Postmenopausal at diagnosis (%) | 92.6% | 90.9% | 90.8% | 91.4% |
Fruit intake (servings per d) | 0.7 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 2.4 |
Alcohol intake (g d−1) | 2.4 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 3.0 |
Total energy intake (kcal d−1) | 1591 | 1586 | 1624 | 1533 |
Disease stage (%) b | ||||
Stage I | 53.9% | 53.4% | 52.3% | 54.6% |
Stage II | 39.8% | 41.1% | 41.9% | 40.7% |
Stage III/IV | 6.3% | 5.5% | 5.9% | 4.8% |
Treatment (%) c | ||||
Radiation | 49.4% | 56.0% | 50.5% | 52.4% |
Chemotherapy | 13.7% | 15.2% | 14.2% | 13.2% |
Hormonal | 32.7% | 33.6% | 28.8% | 34.2% |
Oestrogen receptor-positive (%) | 80.0% | 83.1% | 81.8% | 82.4% |
Progesterone receptor-positive (%) | 68.7% | 64.4% | 68.5% | 67.1% |
Oestrogen receptor-/progesterone receptor-positive (%) | 62.3% | 60.2% | 63.3% | 63.6% |
