Characteristics of the study population, according to the healthy dietary diversity score: the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study
| Quartiles of the healthy dietary diversity score* | P value | ||||
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
| <0.08 | ≥0.08, <0.09 | ≥0.09, <0.1 | ≥0.10 | ||
| Sex (female %) | 50.6 | 59.8 | 63.7 | 71.2 | <0.001 |
| Age (years) | 34.6±12.6 | 36.8±13.1 | 38.4±13.9 | 38.1±13.4 | <0.001 |
| Current smoker (%) | 5.6 | 5.8 | 6.4 | 4.9 | <0.001 |
| Physical activity (MET/min/week) | 454±881 | 604±956 | 627±882 | 633±846 | 0.06 |
| Education level (%)† | 65.0 | 60.4 | 56.6 | 60.7 | 0.005 |
| Baseline BMI (kg/m2) | 22.8±3.3 | 23.0±3.2 | 23.8±3.1 | 24.4±3.3 | 0.01 |
| Obesity (%)* | 11.9 | 13.2 | 15.8 | 16.4 | 0.001 |
| Baseline WC (cm) | 85.9±11.8 | 86.2±11.7 | 86.9±111 | 86.6±11.5 | 0.19 |
| Abdominal obesity (%) | 20.6 | 22.4 | 21.6 | 21.8 | 0.15 |
| Baseline systolic BP (mm Hg) | 107±13.4 | 108±13.1 | 108±13.7 | 107±14.0 | 0.05 |
| Baseline diastolic BP (mm Hg) | 71.9±9.4 | 72.2±9.5 | 71.7±9.5 | 71.4±9.6 | 0.13 |
| Elevated BP (%) | 9.0 | 10.7 | 10.8 | 11.5 | 0.51 |
| Baseline HDL-C (mg/dL) | 43.6±10.8 | 47.9±10.6 | 48.6±11.2 | 49.6±11.2 | <0.001 |
| Low HDL-C (%) | 47.5 | 46.0 | 45.5 | 43.6 | 0.31 |
| Baseline TG (mg/dL) | 113±61.9 | 110±56.9 | 110±63.7 | 109±52.1 | 0.24 |
| High TG (%) | 18.3 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 15.7 | 0.08 |
| Baseline FBG (mg/dL) | 89.3±15.4 | 89.6±14.3 | 89.9±14.5 | 89.1±13.7 | 0.48 |
| High FBG (%) | 6.8 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 6.8 | 0.55 |
The healthy dietary diversity index was designed to measure dietary quality using the 2010 dietary guideline, dietary variety (the number of foods) and proportionality as distributing of food groups in the diet.
*Values are mean±SD unless otherwise listed.
†Educational level ≤14 years.
BMI, body mass index; BP, blood pressure; FBG, fasting blood glucose; HDL-C, high density lipoprotein cholesterol; MET, metabolic equivalent; TG, triglyceride; WC, waist circumference.