*2.4. Research Tools*

A validated structured questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection.

The questionnaire contains four sections to collect data on sociodemographic, lifestyle, dietary habits, and medical conditions and biomarkers. Assessment of dietary habits and the frequency of consumption of food and beverages items were assessed by combining a validated short version FFQ that was used in previous studies [10,34], the Bahraini FFQ which is in process of validation, and some food and beverages included based on findings from the literature (honey, green tea, and soft drinks). The frequency of consumption for the past 18 months was assessed by selecting one of five categories "less than once per month/none", "1–2 times/month", "1–2 times/week", "3–4 times/week" and "every day". The last section involved data collected from the participant's medical records which included documentation of comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes (T2D), hypertension and hyperlipidemia, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) (mmHg), height (cm), and weight (kg), FBS (mmol/L), HbA1c as a percentage (DCCT unit), total cholesterol (mmol/L), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (mmol/L), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (mmol/L), triglycerides (TG) (mmol/L) and vitamin D level (ng/mL). *H. pylori* status (positive vs. negative) was determined upon the result of either UBT, upper GI tract biopsy testing, or both, which had been done within the previous 18 months. The method used for diagnosis was recorded.
