Dietary patterns and smoking in Northern Irish men: a population at high risk of coronary heart disease

This study evaluated dietary habits of Northern Irish men who are at high risk of cardiovascular disease, stratified as never-, ex-, moderate-, or heavy-smokers. Participants were male volunteers (30 - 49 years) from a single workforce in Belfast (n = 765). Dietary information was collected using a validated food frequency questionnaire. For a priori diet scores, never- and ex-smokers had a significantly higher fruit and vegetable score, Mediterranean diet score, and alternative Mediterranean diet score than moderate or heavy-smokers (all p < 0.05). For a posteriori patterns, scores for the healthy, sweet tooth, and traditional dietary patterns, derived from principal component analysis, differed significantly by smoking status, being lower among smokers for the healthy and sweet tooth patterns, and higher in ex-smokers for the traditional pattern (all p < 0.05). When the a posteriori patterns were included in models predicting likelihood of being in a particular smoking category with the a priori patterns, the results for the fruit and vegetable score lost significance (p = 0.13). Both a priori and a posteriori dietary patterns identified smokers, particularly heavy smokers, as exhibiting fewer healthy dietary habits than never- or ex-smokers, but a posteriori dietary patterns appeared to be more strongly associated with smoking status.