A comparison of diet quality indices in a nationally representative cross-sectional study of Iranian households

Nutrition Journal

Table 1 Sociodemographic characteristics of households and mean HEI and DQI-I scores according to sociodemographic characteristics (n = 6935)

Characteristics	Overall N (%)	HEI Mean (SD)	DQI-I Mean (SD)
Age of household head^a
Young age (reference)	1903 (27.4)	33.4 ± 6.47	36.3 ± 7.85
Middle-aged	3502 (50.5)	34.2 ± 6.42	37.9 ± 7.58
Older	1530 (22.0)	34.0 ± 6.51	39.0 ± 7.70
Sex of household head
Males (reference)	6601 (95.2)	34.0 ± 6.45	37.7 ± 7.75
Females	334 (4.8)	33.0 ± 6.52	37.1 ± 7.44
Level of education of household head^b
Low (reference)	3929 (56.7)	32.5 ± 5.98	37.6 ± 7.35
Moderate	2341 (33.8)	35.3 ± 6.40	37.4 ± 8.00
High	665 (9.6)	37.9 ± 6.73	39.4 ± 8.81
Area of residence
Rural (reference)	2417 (34.9)	31.4 ± 5.92	37.1 ± 7.34
Urban	4518 (65.2)	35.3 ± 6.34	38.1 ± 7.92
Household size
Less than 5 members (reference)	3218 (46.4)	34.7 ± 6.66	37.4 ± 8.12
5 or more members	3717 (53.6)	33.3 ± 6.21	38.0 ± 7.39

Abbreviations: HEI Healthy Eating Index, DQI-I Diet quality index international
^aYoung age (18–36 years old), middle aged (> 36–56 years old), older (> 56 years old)
^blow (no formal schooling, less than primary school, the primary school completed), medium (secondary school completed, high school completed), and high (college/university completed)

ISSN: 1475-2891