Validity of a brief screener for environmental risk factors of age-related diseases using type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease as examples

Abstract

Background: Numerous epidemiological studies have shown the role of unhealthy diet, smoking, low physical activity, and psycho-emotional stress in the development of multifactorial diseases, most of which are age-related. In this regard, the development of a brief screener to identify environmental risk factors in patients with age-related diseases is an urgent task. The aim of the study was to evaluate the reproducibility and validity of a brief screener to estimate environmental risk factors in agerelated diseases using type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) and coronary artery disease (CAD) as examples. Materials and methods: The study included 1024 patients with T2D and 448 patients with CAD. All participants in the study completed a double questionnaire survey along with two 24-hour dietary recalls. The reproducibility of the questionnaire was assessed by Spearman's correlation coefficients between the results obtained from patients at both admission and discharge. Validity was assessed by Spearman's correlation coefficients between the results obtained using a brief screener and dietary recalls of patients. Results: Spearman's correlation coefficients for all parameters of the questionnaire at admission and discharge of patients with T2D and CAD were above 0.6, which allows characterizing the questionnaire as reproducible. At the same time, the maximum correlation with respect to nutrients was found for quantitative protein intake in T2D patients (r=0.83, P=0.001) and carbohydrates in CAD patients (r=0.86, P=0.02), whereas the minimum correlation was observed for the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables consumed in both groups of patients (r=0.65 and 0.71, Краткое сообщение Short communication Клёсова ЕЮ, и др. Валидация краткого опросника для оценки ... Klyosova EYu, et al. Validity of a brief screener for environmental ... 132 P<0.05, respectively). Comparison of the results of the survey with the dietary recall data also showed a statistically significant agreement for all items, with the maximum correlation coefficient for the number of consumed proteins in patients with T2D (r=0.71, P=0.0012) and the amount of dietary fiber in patients with CAD (r=0.72, P=0.0012). The minimum correlation was noted for the amount of refined sugar in T2D patients (r=0.61, P=0.03), as well as for the number of fresh vegetables and fruits in CAD patients (r=0.62, P=0.0017). Conclusion: The brief screener designed to estimate environmental risk factors showed statistically significant reproducibility and validity, hence can be used for epidemiological studies of age-related diseases.