Investigative study on the impact of education levels on the dietary patterns and diet quality indices among adult women living in Batman

This study was conducted to explore the influence of educational status on dietary patterns and diet quality indices among adult women residing in Batman. The study was conducted on 126 adult women aged ≥ 18 years who were admitted to the Turkish Health Ministry Batman Regional State Hospital Diet Clinic between May 4 and August 31, 2015. A survey form was administered to the participants, encompassing questions related to demographic details, lifestyle habits, nutritional practices, medical history, education levels, nutrition knowledge, food consumption status, and diet quality. Anthropometric measurements, including height and body weight, were recorded, and BMI values were calculated. Diet quality was determined using the Diet Quality Index (DQI-I). In the cohort, 11.9% of the women were illiterate, 7.9% were literate, 28.6% had primary education, 20.6% had secondary education, 23.0% had high school education, and 7.9% were university graduates. Statistically significant differences were detected in BMI distributions according to the women's educational level (p<0.05). Moreover, statistically significant differences were found in the median values of daily energy intake according to educational level (p<0.05). Comparative analysis identified significant differences between literate women and those with a high school and university education (p<0.05). Further comparisons based on education levels revealed statistically significant differences in the percentage of daily energy from protein, total daily fat intake, percentage of daily energy from fat, daily carbohydrate intake, and daily fiber intake (p<0.05). A statistically significant difference was also detected in the median value of daily calcium intake by educational level (p<0.05). The distribution of DQI-I scores among women according to their educational status showed a statistically significant variance. A significant relationship was found between women's educational level and daily vegetable consumption (p<0.05). Among the subcomponents of the sufficiency score, only the average fruit score demonstrated a statistically significant difference based on the education level (p<0.05). A significant difference was identified in the DQI-I balance component average score according to the education level (p<0.05). In conclusion, this study ascertained that various effects are evident on dietary patterns and diet quality among women, based on their education levels. Keywords: Education, Women, Nutritional Status, Dietary Patterns, Diet Quality.