Dietary patterns of Australian pre-schoolers and associations with haem and non-haem iron intakes.

Purpose: To describe Australian pre-schooler dietary patterns and examine their associations with dietary iron intakes. Methods: Dietary data of children (n = 812, 2 to < 6 years old) from the 2011–12 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey were collected via two non-consecutive 24-h recalls and analysed using AUSNUT 2011–13. Usual food and nutrient intakes were estimated via Multiple Source Method. Principal component analysis was used to extract dietary patterns from 32 food groups. Associations between dietary patterns and energy-adjusted iron intakes were assessed using linear regression, accounting for the complex survey design. Results: Mean (SD) usual total dietary and haem iron intakes were 6.3 (1.9) and 0.5 (0.3) mg/day, respectively. Three dietary patterns were identified, explaining 14% of the variance. Pattern 1 (positive loadings for cheese, breads, fats and oils, and water) was positively associated with total dietary iron intakes (β = 0.08, 95% CI 0.01, 0.15). Pattern 3 (positive loadings for red meat, fortified fruit and vegetable products, and sauces and spreads) was negatively associated with total dietary iron (β = − 0.08, 95% CI − 0.14, − 0.01) and non-haem iron (β = − 0.09, 95% CI − 0.15, − 0.02) intakes. No dietary patterns were associated with haem iron intakes. Conclusions: Three main patterns characterise Australian pre-schooler diets. The pattern with which dietary iron is positively associated is predominately characterised by non-haem iron sources and non-iron-fortified foods. Future research is required to estimate the iron bioavailability of Australian pre-schooler diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]