Planetary health diet, mediterranean diet and micronutrient intake adequacy in the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN) cohort.

Abstract

Purpose: Our study aimed to investigate and compare the association between adherence to a priori Planetary Health Diet Index and two well-known Mediterranean indices, the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) and the Mediterranean Adherence Screener (MEDAS), and micronutrient intake adequacy.

Methods: We assessed 18,259 Spanish university graduates at baseline who participated in the SUN cohort using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Inadequate intake of Zn, I, Se, Fe, Ca, P, Mg, Cr, K, vitamins B₁, B₂, B₃, B₆, B₁₂, C, A, D, E, and folic acid was evaluated using the estimated average requirement (EAR) cut-point approach and the probabilistic approach. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the probability of failing to meet EAR for either ≥ 3 or ≥ 6 micronutrients.

Results: Participants with higher adherence to the Planetary Health Diet had a lower risk of overall inadequacy, while the Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet) showed even greater nutritional adequacy. The adjusted Odds Ratio (OR) for failing to meet ≥ 3 EAR was 0·24 (95% CI 0·21 - 0·27) for the Planetary Health Diet Index, whereas it was substantially lower for MEDAS with OR = 0·12, 95% CI 0·11 - 0·13, and for MDS with OR = 0·09, 95% CI 0·08 - 0·10, always for the comparison of the fourth v. first quartile and using the probabilistic approach method.

Conclusion: In this Mediterranean cohort, better adherence to both the Planetary Health Diet and the MedDiet (with a stronger inverse association) showed lower risk of micronutrient inadequacy.