Awareness and Use of Nutrition Information Predict Measured and Self-Rated Diet Quality of Older Adults in the United States.

OBJECTIVES To examine: 1) diet quality of older adults, using the Healthy Eating Index 2010 (HEI-2010) and self-rated diet quality, 2) characteristics associated with reported awareness and use of nutrition information, 3) factors associated with HEI score and self-rated diet quality. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. Based on Day 1 and/or Day 2 dietary recalls, the Per-Person method was used to estimate HEI-2010 component and total scores. T-tests and ANOVA were used to compare means. Logistic and linear regression were used to test for associations with diet quality, controlling for potential confounders. SETTING National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2009-2014. PARTICIPANTS 3,056 adults, aged 60 years and older, who completed at least one 24-hr recall and answered questions on awareness and use of nutrition information. RESULTS Mean HEI score for men was significantly lower than for women (56.4±0.6 vs. 60.2 ±0.6, p<0.0001). Compared to men, more women were aware of (44.8% vs. 33.7%, p<0.05), and used (13.7% vs. 5.9%, p<0.05) nutrition information. In multivariable analyses, awareness and use of nutrition information was a significant predictor of both HEI and self-rated diet quality for both women and men. Groups with lower nutrition awareness included men, non-whites, participants in nutrition assistance programs, and those with lower education and socioeconomic status. CONCLUSIONS Nutrition awareness and use of nutrition information are associated with diet quality in adults 60 years and older. Gaps in awareness of dietary guidelines in certain segments of the older adult population suggest that targeted education may improve diet quality for these groups.