ASSOCIATION OF DIETARY INTAKE WITH SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS AMONG NURSES AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN KARACHI

Abstract

Background: Nurses’ health status has great importance for their better and enhanced performance in hospital setup. Unhealthy diet may expose them to various diseases. The aim of this study was to identify dietary intake and its association with socio-demographic characteristics among nurses. Methods: The analytical cross-sectional study was conducted from 1^st June to 31^st July 2020 and included 337 nurses from Dr. Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital having minimum one-year working experience, using purposive sampling technique. The Food Frequency Questionnaire (33-items) was used to measure dietary intake in association with socio-demographics of nurses. Data was analysed using SPSS-23. Results: Majority (71.8%) of the study participants were female, 84.0% were married, and 49.2% were in 31–40 years old. Low fat dietary and dairy products were significantly associated with gender, marital status, age group, qualification, smoking, exercise, diabetes, and hypertension with p=0.02, 0.5, 0.03, <0.001, 0.03, <0.001, <0.01 and <0.01 respectively. Sea food and high-fat dairy products were significantly associated with exercise only (p=0.03). Conclusion: There was no significant association of fat and sweets intake with demographic characteristics except that low-fat diet and dairy products were significantly associated with all demographic variables. Sea food and high-fat dairy products had significant association with exercise.

Pak J Physiol 2023;19(2):6–9