Education Level and Cardioprotective Dietary Patterns in Polish Post-MI Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study Using the...

Background: Among patients who have experienced a myocardial infarction, adherence to the principles of healthy eating becomes particularly important. These behaviors may potentially depend on the level of education. Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between the level of education and dietary behaviors potentially beneficial to health among patients hospitalized due to a previous myocardial infarction. Methods: This study includes 164 patients of the Silesian Center for Heart Diseases in Zabrze (Poland). The research tool used was the KomPAN questionnaire for assessing dietary beliefs and habits. The analysis focused on the part of the questionnaire related to the consumption of products with potentially beneficial health effects. To assess diet quality and its association with educational level, the pro-Healthy Diet Index (pHDI) was used. Results: The participants consumed an average of 3.42 ± 0.81 meals per day, with individuals with higher education consuming more meals daily (3.85 ± 0.78). Daily consumption of vegetables and fruits was most common among patients with higher education (69.23% and 63.16%, respectively), followed by those with secondary (47.37% and 63.16%), vocational (37.93% and 40.74%), and primary education (33.33% and 33.33%). Statistically significant correlations were observed between education level and frequency of consumption of vegetables (rs = 0.25, p = 0.001), fruits (rs = 0.24, p = 0.003), legumes (rs = 0.21, p = 0.009), whole grain bread (rs = 0.23, p = 0.006), and coarse groats (rs = 0.24, p = 0.002). The dietary patterns of all study groups were characterized by a moderate level of pro-health features (pHDI among all study participants was 49.87 ± 12.40 points). However, a statistically significant correlation was found between education level and the pro-health diet index (rs = 0.24, p = 0.002), with this index increasing with higher education levels. Conclusions: Dietary behaviors with potentially beneficial health effects among patients hospitalized due to a myocardial infarction may be related to education level. A higher level of education in our study is associated with more favorable dietary choices compared to a lower level of education.