Independent association between socioeconomic indicators and macro- and micro-nutrient intake in Switzerland - de Mestral, C.; Marques-Vidal, P.; Gaspoz, J. M.; Theler, J. M.; Guessous, I. (PLoS One, 2017)
BACKGROUND: Socioeconomic differences in diet are rarely assessed with more than one indicator. We aimed to assess differences in macro- and micro-nutrient intake in both sexes according to education, income, and occupation. METHODS: We used data from validated food frequency questionnaire measured dietary intake in 5087 participants (2157 women) from yearly adult population-based cross-sectional surveys conducted from 2005 to 2012 in the canton of Geneva, Switzerland. We used two ANOVA models: age-adjusted and multivariable adjusted simultaneously for all three socioeconomic indicators. RESULTS: Low-education men consumed more calcium but less vitamin D than high-education men; low-income men consumed less total and animal protein (80.9+/-0.9 vs 84.0+/-0.6 g/d; 55.6+/-1.0 vs 59.5+/-0.7 g/d) and more total carbohydrates and sugars (246+/-2 vs 235+/-2 g/d; 108+/-2 vs 103+/-1 g/d) than high-income men. Occupation and diet showed no association. Low-education women consumed less vegetable protein (20.7+/-0.2 vs 21.6+/-0.2 g/d), fibre (15.7+/-0.3 vs 16.8+/-0.2 g/d), and carotene (4222+/-158 vs 4870+/-128 mug/d) than high-education women; low-income women consumed more total carbohydrates (206+/-2 vs 197+/-1 g/d) and less monounsaturated fat (27.7+/-0.4 vs 29.3+/-0.3 g/d) than high-income women. Finally, low-occupation women consumed more total energy (1792+/-27 vs 1714+/-15 kcal/d) and total carbohydrates (206+/-2 vs 200+/-1 g/d), but less saturated fat (23.0+/-0.3 vs 24.4+/-0.2 g/d), calcium (935+/-17 vs 997+/-10 mg/d) and vitamin D (2.5+/-0.1 vs 2.9+/-0.1 mug/d), than high-occupation women. CONCLUSION: In Switzerland, the influence of socioeconomic factors on nutrient intake differs by sex; income and education, but not occupation, drive differences among men; among women, all three indicators seem to play a role. Interventions to reduce inequalities should consider the influence of education, income, and occupation in diet to be most effective.
Keywords: journalArticle; *Diet; *Energy Intake; *Feeding Behavior; *Nutritional Status; *Socioeconomic Factors; Calcium, Dietary; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diet Surveys; Dietary Carbohydrates; Dietary Fats; Dietary Fiber; Educational Status; Female; Humans; Income; Male; Middle Aged; Occupations; Switzerland; Vitamin D