Ethnic differences in maternal dietary patterns are largely explained by socio-economic score and integration score: a population-based study

Figures & data

Table 1 Fractions (%, or otherwise stated) of weekly or daily frequency intake of foods and beverages within the clusters

Variables	Cluster 1 (n=125)	Cluster 2 (n=199)	Cluster 3 (n=183)	Cluster 4 (n=250)	P*
Beverages (≥5 times/week)
Soft drinks with sugar	28.8	12.6	22.4	16.8	0.002
Soft drinks with artificial sweeteners	5.6	6.0	7.1	21.2	<0.001
Full-fat milk	69.6	5.0	6.0	0.8	<0.001
Semi-skimmed milk (1.5% fat)	13.6	55.8	33.9	17.2	<0.001
Semi-skimmed milk (0.5% fat)	4.0	8.0	10.9	24.8	<0.001
Skimmed milk (0.1% fat)	2.4	2.5	4.4	20.0	<0.001
Tea	63.2	56.3	30.6	27.6	<0.001
Coffee (filtered)	12.0	9.0	10.9	30.4	<0.001
Added sugars to tea or coffee (≥1 tsp.)	69.0	50.0	41.0	32.0	<0.001
Sugar from beverages (g) median (25, 75%)^†	28.00 (15.4, 38.8)	18.20 (8.4, 28.8)	19.66 (10.0, 35.8)	18.40 (8.8, 29.8)	<0.001
Bread and cereals
White bread (daily)	40.8	3.5	44.8	4.0	<0.001
Wholemeal bread (daily)	39.2	67.8	7.1	74.8	<0.001
Cereal, low in sugar (≥5 times/week)	8.0	10.1	4.4	10.4	0.119
Cereals, high in sugar (≥3 times/week) †	8.8	3.5	4.9	3.2	0.083
Bread spreads (≥5 times/week)
Full-fat cheese	32.0	37.7	29.5	47.6	0.001
Low-fat cheese	9.6	7.5	3.3	11.2	0.024
Liver pâté and fatty sandwich meats	2.4	6.0	4.4	13.6	<0.001
Low-fat liver pâté and ham	1.6	2.5	6.0	19.6	<0.001
Jam	12.0	5.5	10.4	4.4	0.014
Sweet spreads (chocolate etc.)	6.4	1.5	2.7	0.8	0.007
Mayonnaise-based salads	4.8	5.0	3.3	0.8	0.048
Eggs as spread	17.6	12.6	6.6	4.4	<0.001
Fruits and vegetables
Fruit and berries (≥ 2 times/day)	43.2	48.7	35.5	55.2	0.001
Raw vegetables (daily)	28.8	37.7	25.7	32.8	0.073
Heat-treated vegetables (daily)	20.8	25.1	14.8	22.4	0.084
Beans and lentils (≥5 times/week)	8.8	5.5	2.7	1.2	0.002
Meats and fish
Meat filets (≥5 times/week)	11.2	8.5	12.0	7.2	0.314
Low-fat processed meat (≥3 times/week)	9.6	2.0	10.9	14.8	<0.001
Lean fish (≥3 times/week)	10.4	8.0	7.7	5.6	0.408
Fatty fish (≥3 times/week)	15.2	11.6	11.5	5.6	0.019
Cooking practices
Fried – pan or wok (daily)	21.6	15.6	19.1	10.4	0.017
Deep-fried (≥3 times/week)	8.8	3.5	3.8	0.8	0.001
Stable foods
Rice, pasta, regular (≥5 times/week)	21.6	12.6	26.8	7.6	<0.001
Wholemeal pasta, unpolished rice (≥3 times/week)	8.8	12.1	3.8	9.6	0.036
Chips (≥3 times/week)	8.0	3.5	7.7	0.8	0.001
Confectionery, cakes, desserts, and snacks (≥3 times/week)
Chocolate	28.0	17.6	28.4	42.4	<0.001
Cakes	18.4	9.0	15.3	14.4	0.094
Sweet biscuits	24.8	12.1	14.2	4.8	<0.001
Sweet buns/bakery products	12.8	3.5	4.4	5.2	0.003
Waffles	4.8	2.0	1.1	0.4	0.017
Ice-cream	10.4	16.1	19.1	20.0	0.107
Dessert, pudding	9.6	1.0	1.6	1.6	<0.001
Dried fruit^†	16.8	10.1	6.6	6.0	0.003
Fat-reduced snacks	5.6	1.5	3.3	0.8	0.023
Salty snacks	8.0	2.5	7.1	7.2	0.105
Nuts	25.6	16.1	9.3	10.4	<0.001

^*Chi-square tests where percentages are presented, and Kruskal–Wallis test where median (25, 75 percentiles) are presented.

^†Not included in the cluster analysis (presented here to clarify the differences across the dietary patterns).

Table 2 Selected characteristics of the sample by dietary patterns

		Cluster 1 (n=125)		Cluster 2 (n=199)		Cluster 3 (n=183)		Cluster 4 (n=250)
	n	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	P*
Age (years)	757	28.5	5.2	29.5	4.9	28.1	4.9	30.5	4.6	<0.001
BMI (kg/m2)	752	27.3	4.8	28.2	4.8	27.3	4.8	27.9	4.6	0.216
Percent total body fat	752	37.1	6.2	37.8	5.9	36.8	6.4	37.8	6.1	<0.001
Duration of residence in Norway (years) †	413	5	(2, 11)	7	(4, 13)	7	(2, 12)	11	(5, 20)	<0.001
Socio-economic status score	753	−0.44	0.92	−0.14	0.97	−0.11	0.96	0.46	0.90	<0.001
Integration-level score	753	−0.55	1.20	−0.10	0.97	−0.13	1.13	0.45	0.55	<0.001
Country of origin, grouped in regions (%)						<0.001
Europe	352	6.0	17.3	19.6	57.1
The Middle East and Africa	174	25.3	36.2	25.9	12.6
South and East Asia	231	26.0	32.5	29.9	11.7

Numbers are means and standard deviations, median (25, 75 percentiles), or percentages.

*ANOVA when mean and SD are presented, Kruskal–Wallis when median (25, 75 percentiles) are presented, and Pearson Chi-square when percentage is presented.

†Data only on respondents born outside Norway.

Table 3 Multinomial regression analysis showing OR of belonging to the dietary patterns 1–3 compared with cluster 4 by ethnic origin (Europe as a reference)

			Cluster 1			Cluster 2			Cluster 3			Cluster 4^†
	r ^2*	n	OR	95% CI		OR	95% CI		OR	95% CI		OR	P ^‡
Model 1^§	0.253												<0.001
Country of origin
Europe^†		350	1			1			1			1
The Middle East and Africa		172	21.5	10.6	43.7	9.9	5.6	17.7	6.1	3.4	11.2	1
South and East Asia		231	21.1	11.0	40.4	8.8	5.2	14.9	6.7	3.9	11.4	1
Model 2^§	0.269												<0.001
Country of origin													<0.001
Europe^†		350	1			1			1			1
The Middle East and Africa		172	11.8	5.	25.3	7.2	3.8	13.	4.1	2.2	7.9	1
South and East Asia		231	16.4	8.5	31.8	7.6	4.4	13.1	5.8	3.4	10.0	1
Model 3^§	0.305												<0.001
Country of origin													<0.001
Europe^†		350	1			1			1			1
The Middle East and Africa		172	3.8	1.6	8.9	3.8	1.8	7.7	1.9	0.9	3.9	1
South and East Asia		231	6.5	3.1	13.5	4.5	2.4	8.2	3.0	1.6	5.6	1

^*Cox and Snell.

^†Reference category.

^‡Multinomial regression analysis.

^§Model 1 is adjusted for age and percent body fat, Model 2 is additionally adjusted for socio-economic score, and Model 3 is adjusted for age, percent body fat, socio-economic score and integration score.

Table 4 Biological markers across the four dietary patterns. Values are adjusted means and standard error (SE), adjusted for age and percent total body fat

		Cluster 1 (n=125)		Cluster 2 (n=199)		Cluster 3 (n=183)		Cluster 4 (n=250)
	n	Mean	SE	Mean	SE	Mean	SE	Mean	SE	P ^*	P ^†
Fasting glucose (mmol/L)	754	4.83	0.05	4.87	0.04	4.90	0.04	4.72	0.04	0.005	0.354
2-h glucose (mmol/L)	745	6.34	0.13	6.38	0.10	6.20	0.11	5.99	0.09	0.022	0.108
Fasting insulin (pmol/L)^‡	742	62.09	1.05	57.54	1.04	62.09	1.04	50.47	1.03	<0.001	0.015
HbA1c (%)	742	5.27	0.03	5.19	0.02	5.19	0.02	5.11	0.02	<0.001	0.402
HOMA-IR^‡	742	1.67	1.03	1.58	1.03	1.68	1.03	1.51	1.02	0.016	0.040
Total cholesterol (mmol/L)	752	6.23	0.10	6.07	0.08	6.08	0.08	6.34	0.07	0.033	0.149
HDL-cholesterol (mmol/L)	752	1.90	0.04	1.91	0.03	1.88	0.03	1.97	0.03	0.137	0.381
LDL-cholesterol (mmol/L)	741	3.51	0.09	3.37	0.07	3.38	0.08	3.56	0.07	0.158	0.390
TAG (mmol/L)	752	2.06	0.07	1.90	0.05	2.05	0.05	1.96	0.07	0.064	0.133

^*Univariate GLM adjusted for age and percent total body fat (df=5).

^†Univariate GLM adjusted for age, percent total body fat and ethnic origin (df=13) (data not shown).

^‡Values are converted back from transformed data.

Table 5 Biological markers across the four dietary patterns. Values are adjusted means and standard error (SE), adjusted for age, percent total body fat, socio-economic score and integration score

		Cluster 1 (n=125)		Cluster 2 (n=199)		Cluster 3 (n=183)		Cluster 4 (n=250)
	n	Mean	SE	Mean	SE	Mean	SE	Mean	SE	P ^*
Fasting glucose (mmol/L)	754	4.79	0.05	4.87	0.04	4.89	0.04	4.75	0.04	0.076
2-h glucose (mmol/L)	745	6.28	0.14	6.37	0.10	6.19	0.11	6.04	0.10	0.164
Fasting insulin (pmol/L) †	742	60.95	1.05	57.41	1.04	60.95	1.04	51.40	1.04	0.007
HbA1c (%)	742	5.25	0.03	5.19	0.02	5.18	0.02	5.13	0.02	0.014
HOMA-IR^†	742	1.69	1.04	1.59	1.03	1.67	1.03	1.50	1.03	0.025
Total cholesterol (mmol/L)	752	6.36	0.11	6.10	0.08	6.10	0.08	6.24	0.08	0.132
HDL-cholesterol (mmol/L)	752	1.94	0.04	1.92	0.03	1.89	0.03	1.94	0.03	0.654
LDL-cholesterol (mmol/L)	741	3.59	0.10	3.39	0.07	3.39	0.08	3.49	0.07	0.269
TAG (mmol/L)	752	2.06	0.07	1.91	0.05	2.08	0.05	1.95	0.05	0.058

^*Univariate GLM adjusted for age, percent total body fat, socio-economic and integration scores (df=7).

^†Values are converted back from transformed data.

Appendix 1. Overview of all variables included in the cluster analysis List of variables included in the cluster analysis. The right column describes variables that were merged to form new variables (e.g. Artificially sweetened soft drinks) to be included in the cluster analysis

Variables included in cluster analysis	Merged variables consists of:
Cola flavoured soft drinks with sugar
Other soft drinks with sugar
Artificially sweetened soft drinks	Artficially sweetened cola flavoured soft drinks; Artificially sweetened other soft drinks; Artificially sweetened fruit drinks.
Fruit drinks and other with sugar
Fruit juice (without added sugar)
Full fat milk
Semi-skimmed milk (1.5%)
Skimmed milk	Semi-skimmed milk (0.5 %); Skimmed milk (0.1 %)
Tea
Coffee
Sugar added to tea or coffee	Added sugar to coffee; Added sugar to tea
Natural yoghurt
Yoghurt with fruits and berries (with added sugar)
Fruit and berries
Unprepared vegetables
Heat prepared vegetables
Potatoes, boiled or baked
Pommes frites
Beans, lentils
Meat filets (low in fat)
Low fat processed meat
High fat processed meat
Pizza, fast food, bought outside of home
Lean fisk
Fatty fisk
Fish products (fish balls, fish cake, fish pudding)
Fish fingers, deep-fried fish
Fried or woked (while cooking)
Deep-fried (while cooking)
White bread
Wholemeal bread
Cereal low in sugar
Polished rice or regular pasta
Wholemeal pasta, unpolished rice
Full fat cheese
Low fat cheese
Liver pâté and meat spreads high in fat
Low fat liver pâté and ham
Jam	Regular jam; Light jam
Fish spreads
Sweetspreads
Mayonnaise-based salad spreads
Egg as spread
Cakes
Sweet biscuits
Sweet buns/bakery products
Waffles
Chocolate and foreign sweet snacks	Chocolate, goodies etc.; Foreign sweet snacks
Dessert or pudding
Ice-cream
Light snacks
Salty snacks
Nuts
Unhealthy between-meal snacks
Healthy between-meal snacks

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