Characteristics of colorectal cancer cases and matched control participants, all of whom provided repeated blood samples at 10-year intervals
| Time period prior to diagnosis of cases | ||||
| >10 years | <5 years | |||
| Cases | Controls | Cases | Controls | |
| N | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 |
| Males (%) | 34 (57) | 34 (57) | 34 (57) | 34 (57) |
| Age (years) | 50.0 (40.3 – 50.2) | 50.0 (40.2 – 50.2) | 59.8 (50.3 – 60.1) | 59.9 (50.2 – 60.1) |
| BMI | 25.5 (23.6 – 27.0) | 24.6 (22.8 – 28.1) | 26.1 (24.4 – 28.9) | 25.5 (23.3 – 29.0) |
| Ever smoker, N (%) | 36 (60) | 34 (57) | 38 (63) | 35 (58) |
| Alcohol intake (g/day) | 3.0 (0.9 – 6.3) | 3.4 (1.6 – 6.7) | 4.6 (1.7 – 8.1) | 3.2 (0.9 – 6.3) |
| No physical activity* (%) | 28 (47) | 23 (38) | 27 (45) | 25 (42) |
| Ghrelin† (pg/mL) | 556 (323 – 772) | 494 (370 – 695) | 527 (338 – 758) | 504 (340 – 623) |
| <LOD, N (%) | 10 (17) | 6 (10) | 12 (20) | 6 (10) |
Summary statistics are presented as medians and interquartile ranges unless otherwise stated.
*Self-reported exercise frequency during leisure time on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1=none and 5=more than three times/week.
†Total fasting plasma ghrelin concentrations measured by sandwich ELISA (Merck, Germany).
BMI, body mass index in kg/m2; LOD, limit of detection.