Selected characteristics of participants at baseline in the Environment and Chronic Disease in Rural Areas of Heilongjiang, China, cohort study on environment, diet and chronic disease
| Characteristics | Men (n, %) | Women (n, %) | Total (n, %) |
| Age (years) | |||
| 35–44 | 252 (6.16) | 520 (7.88) | 772 (7.22) |
| 45–54 | 1012 (24.73) | 2050 (31.06) | 3062 (28.63) |
| 55–64 | 1485 (36.28) | 2459 (37.25) | 3944 (36.88) |
| 65–74 | 1344 (32.84) | 1572 (23.81) | 2916 (27.27) |
| Mean±SD | 59.22±8.85 | 57.21±8.675 | 57.98±8.796 |
| Marital status | |||
| Never married | 87 (2.13) | 30 (0.45) | 117 (1.09) |
| Married | 3764 (91.96) | 6017 (91.15) | 9781 (91.46) |
| Separated or divorced | 47 (1.15) | 47 (0.71) | 94 (0.88) |
| Widowed | 195 (4.76) | 507 (7.68) | 702 (6.56) |
| Highest education completed | |||
| Have never been to school | 655 (16.00) | 2614 (39.60) | 3269 (30.57) |
| Primary school | 1977 (48.30) | 2950 (44.69) | 4927 (46.07) |
| Middle school | 1039 (25.38) | 754 (11.42) | 1793 (16.77) |
| High school or technical secondary school | 300 (7.33) | 138 (2.09) | 438 (4.10) |
| University or above | 122 (2.98) | 145 (2.20) | 267 (2.50) |
| Socioeconomic status | |||
| Annual income, whole family (¥/year) | |||
| <12 000 | 2897 (70.78) | 4648 (70.41) | 7545 (70.55) |
| ≥12 000 | 1196 (29.22) | 1953 (29.59) | 3149 (29.45) |
| Having health cover | 3992 (97.53) | 6368 (96.47) | 10 360 (96.88) |
| Smoking history | |||
| Never-smoker | 1766 (45.21) | 3874 (60.89) | 5640 (54.93) |
| Current smoker* | 1828 (46.80) | 2255 (35.44) | 4083 (39.76) |
| Ex regular smoker | 298 (7.63) | 208 (3.27) | 506 (4.93) |
| Missing | 14 (0.36) | 25 (0.39) | 39 (0.38) |
| Drinking of alcohol | |||
| Never or almost never | 1640 (42.06) | 5680 (89.62) | 7320 (71.51) |
| regular drinking† | 1327 (34.03) | 102 (1.61) | 1429 (13.96) |
| Missing | 13 (0.33) | 18 (0.28) | 31 (0.30) |
| Regular consumption of certain foodstuffs‡ | |||
| Coarse cereals (corn) | 1070 (27.36) | 1889 (29.67) | 2959 (28.79) |
| Red meat and its products | 1111 (28.41) | 1339 (21.03) | 2450 (23.84) |
| Fish/seafood | 163 (4.17) | 242 (3.80) | 405 (3.94) |
| Fresh vegetables | 2856 (73.02) | 4709 (73.96) | 7565 (73.60) |
| Fresh fruit | 1678 (42.90) | 2831 (44.46) | 4509 (43.87) |
| Pickled vegetables | 1642 (41.98) | 2592 (40.71) | 4234 (41.19) |
| Exposure to domestic air pollution | |||
| Use of smoky cooking fuel§ | 1666 (94.61) | 5783 (94.23) | 7449 (93.16) |
| Home smoky in winter | 3796 (97.84) | 6152 (97.48) | 9898 (99.50) |
| Reproductive history in women | |||
| Age at menarche<13 years | 167 (2.63) | ||
| Age at first live birth<20 years | 542 (8.54) | ||
| Having five or more live births | 600 (9.45) | ||
| Age at menopause<50¶ | 2134 (42.09) | ||
| Ever used contraceptive pill | 284 (4.48) | ||
| High-fat diet** | 1869 (47.19) | 2985 (46.45) | 4854 (46.38) |
| High-salt diet†† | 1385 (33.84) | 2094 (31.72) | 3479 (32.53) |
*Current smoker is defined as those who have smoked at least 100 cigarettes lifetime and smoke every day or some days now.
†Regular drinking is defined as at least once a week.
‡Regular consumption of certain foodstuffs is defined as an average of ≧3 times per week in the past year.
§Restricted to participants who reported doing some cooking at home.
¶Restricted to women who were aged 550 years at baseline survey.
**A high-fat diet is defined as an average daily oil intake>25 g.
††A high-salt diet is defined as an average daily salt intake>6 g.