Diet quality in elderly Portuguese households

OBJECTIVE: To identify diet quality time trends in Portuguese elderly households and the association of diet quality with socio demo graphic characteristics. DESIGN: Set of four cross-sectional studies. SETTING: Portuguese population. SUBJECTS: Nationally representative samples from Household Budget Surveys (1989–1990, 1994–1995, 2000–2001 and 2005–2006 versions). Households with members aged ≥ 65 years were categorized as solitary elderly female, solitary elderly male, or elderly couple (composed of one elderly female and one elderly male) and compared with adult households with the same composition. METHODS: Diet quality was assessed through a revised version of the Healthy Diet Indicator (HDIr). Univariate and multiple backward linear regression models were used to study the association with sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS: Mean values of dietary index were low and the proportion of elderly households with low diet quality (HDIr≤4) was high (between 47.4% and 68.4%). However, the frequency of HDIr inadequacy for adult household was even higher (P