Baseline characteristics of the subjects in the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health Study according to frequency of chocolate intake
| All participants | <1/month | 1–3/month | 1/week | 2–6/week | ≥1/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | 55502 | 12258 | 22909 | 10620 | 8476 | 1239 |
| Total calorie intake (kJ/day) | 9841.3±2773.0 | 9041.8±2608.9 | 9582.6±2590.3 | 10180.8±2689.5 | 10932.8±2910.4 | 12155.8±3328.7 |
| Median (IQR) total calorie intake (k/day) | 9546 (7901–11431) | 8790 (7224–10537) | 9312 (7746–11097) | 9871 (8341–11724) | 10632 (8922–12543) | 11629 (9768–13976) |
| Median (IQR) proportion of calories from chocolate (%) | 1.0 (0.4–1.9) | 0.2 (0.2–0.3) | 0.8 (0.5–1.1) | 1.7 (1.4–2.0) | 4.9 (4.1–6.1) | 10.6 (8.8–12.8) |
| Caffeine consumption (mg/day)* | 624.2±298.6 | 622.7±308.7 | 626.2±294.7 | 624.7±294.0 | 621.2±297.3 | 617.5±316.7 |
| Median (IQR) caffeine consumption (mg/day)* | 620.6 (365.7–892.6) | 619.6 (362.7–892.1) | 621.3 (367.4–892.8) | 621.2 (374.7–892.9) | 621.4 (366.7–892.1) | 618.8 (366.7–892.5) |
| Coffee consumption (g/day) | 800.0±474.9 | 806.2±488.4 | 806.7±469.7 | 795.7±468.4 | 782.6±473.3 | 769.8±499.4 |
| Alcohol consumption (g/day) | 20.5±21.9 | 22.7±25.3 | 20.1±21.2 | 19.4±20.1 | 20.1±20.4 | 19.0±22.3 |
| Median (IQR) alcohol consumption (g/day) | 12.9 (5.9–31.1) | 13.0 (5.2–33.3) | 12.8 (6.0–30.5) | 12.8 (6.2–27.1) | 13.4 (6.3–30.5) | 12.1 (3.7–29.0) |
| Age at study entry (years) | 56.7±4.4 | 56.9±4.3 | 56.7±4.3 | 56.5±4.4 | 56.5±4.5 | 56.8±4.6 |
| Sex (% men) | 26400 (47.6) | 5801 (47.3) | 10895 (47.6) | 5000 (47.1) | 4130 (48.7) | 574 (46.3) |
| Education (%) | ||||||
| ≤7 | 18309 (33.0) | 5072 (41.4) | 7899 (34.5) | 3013 (28.4) | 2017 (23.8) | 308 (24.9) |
| 8–10 | 25579 (46.1) | 5232 (42.7) | 10520 (45.9) | 5192 (48.9) | 4070 (48.0) | 565 (45.6) |
| ≥11 | 11614 (20.9) | 1954 (15.9) | 4490 (19.6) | 2415 (22.7) | 2389 (28.2) | 366 (29.5) |
| Body height (cm) | 170.1±8.9 | 169.4±8.8 | 170.0±8.8 | 170.3±8.9 | 171.0±8.9 | 170.7±9.1 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 26.0±4.0 | 26.4±4.3 | 26.1±4.0 | 25.9±3.9 | 25.6±3.9 | 25.1±3.9 |
| Smoking (%) | ||||||
| Never | 19480 (35.1) | 3653 (29.8) | 8266 (36.1) | 4061 (38.2) | 3102 (36.6) | 398 (32.1) |
| Former | 15931 (28.7) | 3528 (28.8) | 6672 (29.1) | 3001 (28.3) | 2378 (28.1) | 352 (28.4) |
| Current | 20091 (36.2) | 5077 (41.4) | 7971 (34.8) | 3558 (33.5) | 2996 (35.3) | 489 (39.5) |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 139.5±20.5 | 141.4±21.2 | 139.6±20.4 | 138.8±20.2 | 137.8±19.8 | 137.1±19.6 |
| Hypertension (%) | 9063 (16.3) | 2365 (19.3) | 3786 (16.5) | 1577 (14.8) | 1182 (13.9) | 153 (12.3) |
| Diabetes mellitus (%) | 1322 (2.4) | 666 (5.4) | 431 (1.9) | 127 (1.2) | 82 (1.0) | 16 (1.3) |
| Cardiovascular disease (%) | 761 (1.4) | 243 (2.0) | 312 (1.4) | 115 (1.1) | 80 (0.9) | 11 (0.9) |
| Total cholesterol >6 mmol/L (%) | 27503 (49.6) | 6136 (50.1) | 11463 (50.0) | 5211 (49.1) | 4090 (48.3) | 603 (48.7) |
Values shown are mean±standard deviation, median (interquartile range) or n (%).
*Caffeine from sources other than chocolate (coffee, tea and soft drinks).
IQR, interquartile range.