Characteristics of study participants at wave 1 by tertiles of change in the overall DA index during 3.2 years (wave 0 to wave 1)
| Total (n=571) | Lowest tertile (n=192) | Intermediate tertile (n=190) | Highest tertile (n=189) | |
| Change (absolute percentage) in overall DA index from wave 0 to wave 1, mean (SD) | 1.5 (5.9) | −4.3 (3.3) | 1.2 (1.2) | 7.8 (4.4) |
| Men, % | 61.3 | 61.5 | 61.1 | 61.4 |
| Age, mean (SD) | 70.1 (5.2) | 69.7 (5.2) | 69.7 (5.2) | 70.8 (5.0) |
| Educational level, % | ||||
| ≤Primary | 41.3 | 38.5 | 41.1 | 44.4 |
| Secondary | 30.2 | 31.3 | 28.9 | 30.2 |
| University | 28.5 | 30.2 | 30.0 | 25.4 |
| Tobacco smoking, % | ||||
| Never smoker | 50.6 | 49.0 | 49.0 | 53.9 |
| Former smoker | 38.7 | 40.1 | 38.4 | 37.6 |
| Current smoker | 10.7 | 10.9 | 12.6 | 8.5 |
| Leisure-time physical activity (MET-hours/week), mean (SD) | 23.5 (15.5) | 24.2 (14.9) | 24.2 (24.8) | 21.6 (15.3) |
| Time watching TV (hours/day), mean (SD) | 2.6 (1.5) | 2.6 (1.3) | 2.4 (1.4) | 2.8 (1.7) |
| MEDAS score, mean (SD) | 7.8 (1.7) | 7.9 (1.9) | 7.8 (1.6) | 7.7 (1.5) |
| Body mass index (kg/m2), mean (SD) | 28.3 (4.1) | 28.1 (3.9) | 27.8 (4.0) | 28.9 (4.4) |
| Alcohol intake (g/day), mean (SD) | 14.8 (15.2) | 14.7 (15.2) | 15.3 (15.4) | 14.5 (15.2) |
| Change in alcohol intake (g/day) from wave 1 to wave 3, mean (SD) | –2.29 (14.4) | –0.49 (14.9) | –2.16 (14.6) | –4.24 (13.4) |
Range of sex-specific tertiles of change in overall DA index: lowest = –19.7 to –0.5%; intermediate = –0.8% to 3.3%; highest=3.2%–29.0%.
DA, deficit accumulation; MEDAS, Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener; MET, metabolic equivalents of task.