Table 1 Characteristics of the participants at baseline, Nutrinet-Santé Study, France, 2014 (N = 33,013) 

N

33,013

32,673

340

Women, %

76.36

76.57

56.76

 < 0.0001

Age, mean (SD)

52.93 (13.99)

52.85 (14.01)

60.02 (9.39)

 < 0.0001^b

Monthly income per household unit, %

0.92

  < €1200

11.58

11.58

12.35

  €1200–1800

22.99

22.98

24.41

  €1800–2700

27.22

27.24

25.29

  > €2700

31.94

31.95

31.76

  Unwilling to answer

6.26

6.27

6.18

Educational level, %

 < 0.0001

  Less than high-school diploma

20.37

20.22

34.41

  High school diploma

14.6

14.56

18.53

  Post Graduate

65.03

65.22

47.06

Occupational status, %

 < 0.0001

  Employee, manual worker

14.74

14.77

11.76

  Intermediate profession

15.32

15.36

10.59

  Managerial staff, intellectual

21.62

21.69

15.59

  Retired

35.08

34.92

50.88

  Self-employed, farmer

1.90

1.90

1.47

  Unemployed or never employed

11.34

11.35

9.71

Marital status, %

 < 0.0001

  Single

12.78

12.81

9.71

  Divorced or separated

9.65

9.64

10.29

  Cohabiting

18.28

18.35

11.76

  Married

56.06

56.00

61.76

  Widowed

3.23

3.20

6.47

Physical activity, %

0.03

  High

33.27

33.29

30.88

  Moderate

36.79

36.82

34.12

  Low

19.19

19.12

25.59

  Missing data

10.75

10.77

9.41

Place of residence, %

0.78

  Rural community

22.36

22.36

22.65

  Urban unit with a population < 20,000 inhabitants

15.35

15.33

17.06

  Urban unit with a population between 20,000 and 200,000 inhabitants

18.51

18.51

18.82

  Urban unit with a population > 200,000 inhabitants

43.78

43.81

41.47

Smoking habits, %

 < .0001

  Current smoker

11.07

11.07

11.47

  Former smoker

39.70

39.55

54.41

  Never smoker

49.22

49.38

34.12

Body Mass Index, %

 < .0001

  < 25 kg/m²

67.31

67.82

18.23

  ≥ 25 kg/m² and < 30 kg/m²

24.06

23.90

39.71

  ≥ 30 kg/m²

8.63

8.28

42.06

Family history of diabetes, %

20.87

20.64

43.24

 < .0001

Cardiovascular disease at baseline or during follow-up, %

0.73

0.72

1.47

0.10

Hypertriglyceridaemia at baseline, %

2.71

2.58

15.29

 < .0001

Hypercholesterolemia at baseline, %

16.73

16.47

41.76

 < .0001

Hypertension at baseline, %

10.88

10.62

36.47

 < .0001