AbstractObjectiveIn women, the risk for non-communicable diseases increases after menopause. We aimed to identify major dietary patterns and study their associations with nutrient intake, sociodemographic factors and risk factors for non-communicable diseases among women aged 50–69 years.DesignA cross-sectional study. Food intake was recorded by a 253-item FFQ. Dietary patterns were identified using principal component analysis. The associations between the dietary patterns and nutrients were

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... scribed by Pearson's correlation coefficients and multiple regression analysis was used to examine the associations between the dietary patterns and age, education, BMI, physical activity and smoking.SettingThe Norwegian Breast Cancer Screening Programme.SubjectsWomen (n6298) aged 50–69 years.ResultsThree dietary patterns were identified: 'Prudent', 'Western' and 'Continental'. Adherence to the 'Prudent' pattern was related to older age, higher education, higher BMI, more physical activity (Ptrend<0·001) and being a non-smoker (P<0·001). Adherence to the 'Western' pattern was related to older age, lower education, higher BMI, less physical activity (0·001≤Ptrend≤0·006) and lower alcohol intake (r=−0·28). Adherence to the 'Continental' pattern was related to younger age, higher education, higher BMI, less physical activity, (Ptrend<0·001), being a smoker (P<0·001) and higher alcohol intake (r=0·36).ConclusionsThree distinct dietary patterns were identified. High adherence to a 'Prudent' pattern was associated with a healthy lifestyle, while high adherence to a 'Western' or 'Continental' pattern was associated with an unhealthy lifestyle. These findings are valuable knowledge for health authorities when forming strategies to promote a healthier lifestyle among women.