Table 1 Baseline characteristics of participants according to METI-LITE score in the cohort study.

From: Mediterranean diet and rheumatoid arthritis: A nine-year cohort study and systematic review with meta-analysis

 

Total (n = 117,341)

Quartiles of METI-LITE score

 

0–6 (n = 23,464)

7-8 (n = 28,484)

9-10 (n = 30,578)

11–18 (n = 34,815)

P a

Demographics

      

Age, years, (median [IQR])

57.0 [50.0, 62.0]

56.0 [49.0, 62.0]

57.0 [50.0, 62.0]

58.0 [50.0, 63.0]

58.0 [51.0, 63.0]

<0.001

Sex, (%)

     

<0.001

 Female

64,156 (54.7)

10,511 (44.8)

14,712 (51.7)

17,267 (56.5)

21,666 (62.2)

 

 Male

53,185 (45.3)

12,953 (55.2)

13,772 (48.3)

13,311 (43.5)

13,149 (37.8)

 

Ethnicity, (%)

     

<0.001

 White

113,785 (97.0)

22,966 (97.9)

27,750 (97.4)

29,609 (96.8)

33,460 (96.1)

 

 Other

3,556 (3.0)

498 (2.1)

734 (2.6)

969 (3.2)

1,355 (3.9)

 

Townsend Deprivation index, (median [IQR])

-2.37 [-3.77, -0.06]

-2.35 [-3.75, -0.03]

-2.43 [-3.80, -0.22]

-2.40 [-3.79, -0.13]

-2.31 [-3.73, 0.10]

<0.001

Education, (%)

     

<0.001

 College degree or higher

71,733 (61.1)

13,104 (55.8)

16,843 (59.1)

18,837 (61.6)

22,949 (65.9)

 

 No college degree

45,608 (38.9)

10,360 (44.2)

11,641 (40.9)

11,741 (38.4)

11,866 (34.1)

 

Lifestyles

      

Smoking status, (%)

     

<0.001

 Never

67,130 (57.2)

12,618 (53.8)

16,109 (56.6)

17,784 (58.2)

20,619 (59.2)

 

 Former

42,091 (35.9)

8355 (35.6)

10,159 (35.7)

10,941 (35.8)

12,636 (36.3)

 

 Current

8,120 (6.9)

2,491 (10.6)

2,216 (7.8)

1,853 (6.1)

1,560 (4.5)

 

Sleep duration, h, (%)

     

<0.001

 <7

25,268 (21.5)

5377 (22.9)

6228 (21.9)

6455 (21.1)

7208 (20.7)

 

 ≥7

92,073 (78.5)

18,087 (77.1)

22,256 (78.1)

24,123 (78.9)

27,607 (79.3)

 

Physical activity (IPAQ), (%)

     

<0.001

 Low

21,830 (18.6)

5647 (24.1)

5962 (20.9)

5381 (17.6)

4840 (13.9)

 

 Moderate

63,991 (54.5)

12,316 (52.5)

15,365 (53.9)

16,892 (55.2)

19,418 (55.8)

 

 High

31,520 (26.9)

5501 (23.4)

7157 (25.1)

8305 (27.2)

10,557 (30.3)

 

Health indicators

      

Other autoimmune diseases b, (%)

     

0.001

 No

113,156 (96.4)

22,541 (96.1)

27,443 (96.3)

29,528 (96.6)

33,644 (96.6)

 

 Yes

4185 (3.6)

923 (3.9)

1041 (3.7)

1050 (3.4)

1171 (3.4)

 

Hypertension, (%)

     

<0.001

 No

60,782 (51.8)

11,690 (49.8)

14,514 (51.0)

15,843 (51.8)

18,735 (53.8)

 

 Yes

56,559 (48.2)

11,774 (50.2)

13,970 (49.0)

14,735 (48.2)

16,080 (46.2)

 

Diabetes, (%)

     

<0.001

 No

114,177 (97.3)

22,760 (97.0)

27,611 (96.9)

29,779 (97.4)

34,027 (97.7)

 

 Yes

3164 (2.7)

704 (3.0)

873 (3.1)

799 (2.6)

788 (2.3)

 

Rheumatoid factor, (%)

     

0.661

 Positive

5640 (4.8)

1116 (4.8)

1352 (4.7)

1510 (4.9)

1662 (4.8)

 

 Negative

111,701 (95.2)

22,348 (95.2)

27,132 (95.3)

29,068 (95.1)

33,153 (95.2)

 

Genetic predisposition c, (median [IQR])

0.08 [−0.57, 0.77]

0.09 [−0.57, 0.78]

0.08 [−0.57, 0.78]

0.07 [−0.57, 0.77]

0.07 [−0.58, 0.75]

0.129

Reproductive/hormonal factors (females only)

    

Menarche, years, (%)

     

0.137

 <12

12,348 (19.2)

2035 (19.4)

2909 (19.8)

3331 (19.3)

4073 (18.8)

 

 ≥12

51,808 (80.8)

8476 (80.6)

11,803 (80.2)

13,936 (80.7)

17,593 (81.2)

 

Menopause, (%)

     

<0.001

 No/Not sure

26,390 (41.1)

4921 (46.8)

6352 (43.2)

6949 (40.2)

8168 (37.7)

 

 Yes

37,766 (58.9)

5590 (53.2)

8360 (56.8)

10,318 (59.8)

13,498 (62.3)

 

Parous, (%)

     

0.187

 No

14,874 (23.2)

2430 (23.1)

3413 (23.2)

3915 (22.7)

5116 (23.6)

 

 Yes

49,282 (76.8)

8081 (76.9)

11,299 (76.8)

13,352 (77.3)

16,550 (76.4)

 

Use of oral contraceptive, (%)

     

<0.001

 No

9067 (14.1)

1379 (13.1)

1955 (13.3)

2500 (14.5)

3233 (14.9)

 

 Yes

55,089 (85.9)

9132 (86.9)

12,757 (86.7)

14,767 (85.5)

18,433 (85.1)

 

Use of hormone replacement therapy, (%)

     

0.074

 No

41,663 (64.9)

6882 (65.5)

9652 (65.6)

11,132 (64.5)

13,997 (64.6)

 

 Yes

22,493 (35.1)

3629 (34.5)

5060 (34.4)

6135 (35.5)

7669 (35.4)

 
  1. IPAQ International Physical Activity Questionnaire, BMI body mass index, Bold indicates statistically significant values.
  2. a Kruskal-Wallis H test or chi-square test where appropriate; b Other autoimmune disease included psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus and inflammatory bowel disease; c Genetic predisposition to RA was assessed by polygenic risk score.
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