Table 1 UK Biobank participant characteristics according to approximate score tertiles of the study population
|  | Low (0–3.5) | Middle (3.75–4.25) | High (4.5–7) | Overall (0–7) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Total score (points) | 2.84 (0.60) | 4.00 (0.20) | 5.01 (0.48) | 3.84 (1.04) |
Number of participants, n (%) | 39,048 (41.2) | 25,923 (27.4) | 29,807 (31.5) | 94,778 (100) |
Sex, n (%) | ||||
 Females | 16,476 (42.2) | 14,187 (54.7) | 19,965 (67.0) | 50,628 (53.4) |
 Males | 22,572 (57.8) | 11,736 (45.3) | 9842 (33.0) | 44,150 (46.6) |
Age (years) | 55.7 (7.9) | 56.1 (7.9) | 55.8 (7.9) | 55.8 (7.9) |
Country of recruitment, n (%) | ||||
 England | 35,648 (91.3) | 23,781 (91.8) | 27,348 (91.8) | 86,777 (91.6) |
 Scotland | 2113 (5.4) | 1368 (5.3) | 1604 (5.4) | 5085 (5.4) |
 Wales | 1287 (3.3) | 774 (3.0) | 855 (2.9) | 2916 (3.1) |
Education, n (%) | ||||
 College or University degree | 16,959 (43.4) | 12,755 (49.2) | 16,092 (54.0) | 45,806 (48.3) |
 A levels/AS levels or equivalent | 5430 (13.9) | 3590 (13.9) | 3806 (12.8) | 12,826 (13.53 |
 O levels/GCSEs or equivalent | 8293 (21.2) | 4767 (18.4) | 5077 (17.0) | 18,137 (19.1) |
 CSEs or equivalent | 1523 (3.9) | 824 (3.2) | 780 (2.6) | 3127 (3.3) |
 NVQ or HND or HNC or equivalent | 2330 (6.0) | 1247 (4.8) | 1104 (3.7) | 4681 (4.9) |
 Other professional qualifications | 1766 (4.5) | 1242 (4.8) | 1478 (5.0) | 4486 (4.7) |
 None of the above | 2670 (6.8) | 1454 (5.6) | 1403 (4.7) | 5527 (5.8) |
 Do not know/prefer not to answer | 77 (0.2) | 44 (0.2) | 67 (0.2) | 188 (0.2) |
Townsend deprivation index |  − 1.66 (2.82) |  − 1.77 (2.77) |  − 1.61 (2.86) |  − 1.67 (2.82) |
Ethnicity, n (%) | ||||
 White | 38,044 (97.4) | 25,142 (97.0) | 28,543 (95.8) | 91,729 (96.8) |
 Mixed and other | 373 (1.0) | 277 (1.1) | 422 (1.4) | 1072 (1.1) |
 Asian or Asian British | 271 (0.7) | 262 (1.0) | 435 (1.5) | 968 (1.0) |
 Black or Black British | 323 (0.8) | 182 (0.7) | 256 (0.9) | 761 (0.8) |
 Chinese | 37 (0.1) | 60 (0.2) | 151 (0.5) | 248 (0.3) |
Smoking, n (%) | ||||
 Never | 21,301 (54.6) | 15,286 (59.0) | 18,391 (61.7) | 54,978 (58.0) |
 Former smoker | 14,363 (36.8) | 8961 (34.6) | 9945 (33.4) | 33,269 (35.1) |
 Current smoker | 3318 (8.5) | 1642 (6.3) | 1429 (4.8) | 6389 (6.7) |
 Unknown | 66 (0.2) | 34 (0.1) | 42 (0.1) | 142 (0.2) |