Abstract
BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to identify dietary patterns and evaluated their association with biochemical blood profiles and body weight among adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: This was a cross sectional study conducted among 400 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Tehran from March to August 2013. Biochemical blood profiles, socio-demographic, lifestyle, anthropometric measurements, and dietary data were obtained. Dietary data from food frequency questionnaire were used to derive dietary patterns. Factor analysis was conducted to ascertain the dietary patterns, and analysis of covariance was fitted to assess the relation between blood profiles, body weight and adherence to dietary patterns. RESULTS: Three dietary patterns by factor analysis were identified, Vegetable & Poultry, Western and Semi-healthy. After control for potential confounders, body mass index (b = -0/03, p < 0.05) were negatively associated with vegetable and poultry dietary pattern. Conversely, total cholesterol (b = 0.004, p < 0.01) and fasting blood glucose (b = 0.014, p < 0.05) were positively associated with western dietary pattern. A dietary pattern labeled as semi-healthy pattern was found to be positively related to HDL-cholesterol (b = 0.006 p < 0.01). Associations between semi-healthy pattern, LDL-cholesterol (b = -0.120 p < 0.05) and waist circumference (b = -0.020, p < 0.05) were negative. CONCLUSION: Adherence to Vegetable & Poultry dietary pattern was favorably related to body weight, semi healthy related to lower LDL and higher HDL cholesterol whereas western related to higher fasting blood glucose and total cholesterol. Further studies are necessary to confirm the benefits of the dietary patterns for diabetes.