Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 24, 2026
Quantitative Determination of De Novo Fatty Acid Synthesis in Brown Adipose Tissue Using Deuterium Oxide
Published on: May 12, 2023
Validation of the MedDietScore via the determination of plasma fatty acids
Demosthenes Panagiotakos1, Nick Kalogeropoulos, Christos Pitsavos
1Department of Nutrition Science-Dietetics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece. d.b.panagiotakos@usa.net
Background:
The purpose of the present work was to validate the MedDietScore by means of plasma fatty acid levels.
Methods:
The study sample consisted of 189 men (44+/-13 years old) and 185 women (40+/-15 years old), randomly selected from the ATTICA study database. All participants completed a food frequency questionnaire (the EPIC-Greek FFQ), and a modified version of the MedDietScore (using weights) was then calculated to evaluate the level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Plasma and dietary fatty acids were measured.
Results:
Correlation analysis revealed a strong positive relationship between the MedDietScore, monounsaturated fatty acids (P <0.001), monounsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids (P <0.001), docosahexaenoic acid (22:6 n-3) (P <0.05) and n-3 fatty acids (P <0.001), and inverse correlations between the diet score and polyunsaturated fatty acids (comprised of the sum of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids) (P <0.001), saturated fatty acids (P <0.01), and total n-6 fatty acids (P <0.001). The effect size of the relationships between the weighted-MedDietScore and fatty acids was better than the relationships with the initial version of the diet score.
Conclusions:
Our findings suggest that the modified MedDietScore is a valid measure of various plasma fatty acids, and may prove a useful tool in assessing diet quality of adults.
