Table 3.
Age of the participating children, home food availability scores and dietary pattern scores, by parental education, among Finnish pre-school children aged 3–6 years, DAGIS study, September 2015–April 2016
| Highest education in the family | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All (n 711) | Secondary school or lower (n 148) | Polytechnic degree (n 302) | Master’s degree or higher (n 261) | ||||||
| Mean | sd | Mean | sd | Mean | sd | Mean | sd | P value* | |
| Age (years) | 4·72 | 0·89 | 4·72 | 0·93 | 4·70 | 0·87 | 4·74 | 0·90 | 0·91 |
| Home food availability scores | |||||||||
| Fruits and vegetables availability score† | 20·40 | 2·81 | 19·96 | 2·93 | 20·26 | 2·80 | 20·82 | 2·71 | <0·01 |
| Sugar-enriched foods availability score‡ | 16·53 | 3·59 | 16·16 | 3·57 | 16·65 | 3·63 | 16·61 | 3·55 | 0·37 |
| Dietary pattern scores§ | |||||||||
| Sweets-and-treats dietary pattern score | −0·02 | 1·00 | 0·16 | 1·10 | 0·00 | 1·01 | −0·14 | 0·90 | 0·01 |
| Health-conscious dietary pattern score | −0·02 | 0·94 | −0·16 | 1·02 | −0·10 | 0·89 | 0·16 | 0·93 | <0·01 |
| Vegetables-and-processed meats dietary pattern score | −0·01 | 0·99 | 0·19 | 1·07 | −0·02 | 1·03 | −0·10 | 0·87 | 0·01 |
The P value shows the result of ANOVA to compare availability scores and dietary pattern scores between the three parental education levels.
A composite score describing the availabilities of fresh vegetables, fresh fruits or berries, frozen vegetables, frozen fruits or berries, and 100 % fruit juices in the home, range 5–25.
A composite score describing the availabilities of sweets or chocolate, sweet cookies, sweet pastries, ice cream, soft drinks and juices with added sugar in the home, range 6–30.
Scores derived for every participant by principal component analysis by assigning weights to each participant’s food consumption frequency. Higher pattern score indicates stronger adherence to the dietary pattern in question.