In this analysis, age, residency , education level and employment status were included as controlled variables. These variables were selected based on a< 0.05 as determined by the previous simple logistic regression and conform to known individual and social determinants of health. CVD incidence and legume intake were measured as categorical variables, while age and BMI were measured as continuous variables. Both age and BMI were Z-standardised before moderation analysis.
]. According to Dawson, the moderation effect was considered significant when both of the following conditions were met: the interaction between the dependent and independent variables had aof less than 0.05 as determined by the moderation analysis and the visualisation of the interaction exhibited an intercept with the moderator’s slope [A total of 15,366 participants provided a complete personal medical history of CVD.
Table 1 Characteristics of study population and regression analysis between demographic characteristic and legumes intake with CVD statusThe simple logistic regression showed that significant factors associated with CVD in this study were BMI , increased age [41–50 , 51–60 and 61–70 ], lower education level [without education , primary education and secondary education ], lack of employment , marital status [married and separated ] and lastly, rural residents .
The moderation analysis demonstrated that a minimum of three servings per day had significant effects on the relationship between BMI and CVD prevalence . The analysis of the moderation effect of frequency of consumption on BMI and the risk of CVD indicated that the consumption of a minimum of three daily servings had significant effects compared to less than three servings per day.