The Global Diet Quality Score Is Inversely Associated with Nutrient Inadequacy, Low Midupper Arm Circumference, and...

Area of Science:

• Nutritional Epidemiology
• Public Health Nutrition
• Dietary Assessment

Background:

• Sub-Saharan Africa faces a dual burden of widespread nutrient deficits and rising noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).
• Effective, simple metrics are crucial for assessing diet quality's impact on this double burden.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS) against other dietary metrics for assessing nutrient adequacy and undernutrition in rural sub-Saharan African adults.
• To compare the performance of GDQS, Minimum Dietary Diversity-Women (MDD-W), and Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010 (AHEI-2010).

Main Methods:

• Utilized Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) data from men and women (15-49 years) across 10 sub-Saharan African countries.
• Assessed Spearman correlations between diet metrics and nutrient intakes.
• Examined associations with Body Mass Index (BMI), mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), and hemoglobin levels using regression models.

Main Results:

• GDQS showed significant correlations with nutrient adequacy (protein, fiber, key micronutrients) in both men and women.
• GDQS was associated with lower odds of low MUAC and anemia in both sexes.
• MDD-W and AHEI-2010 showed varying correlations with specific nutrient intakes and anthropometric/hematological indicators, with less consistent associations than GDQS.

Conclusions:

• The GDQS demonstrates comparable performance to MDD-W in assessing nutrient adequacy-related outcomes in rural sub-Saharan Africa.
• Prospective studies are recommended to evaluate the GDQS's utility in predicting noncommunicable disease outcomes, given the current study's cross-sectional design and limited NCD data.