Micronutrients adequacy according to six diet quality indices in the "Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra" cohort.

Objectives: diet quality indices (DQI) tend to relate positively to micronutrient intake. Our aim was to investigate the association between six DQIs and inadequate intake for 19 micronutrients in the SUN ("Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra") cohort.

Methods: we assessed 16,768 participants (59.3 % women, 37.8 years for mean age). Diet quality was evaluated using Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH); Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS); Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI-2010); Food-Based Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS); Alternative Mediterranean Diet Score (aMED) and Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS). Logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the probability of failing to meet Estimate Average Requirement (EAR) for either ≥ 3 or ≥ 6 micronutrients.

Results: overall, the lower and higher prevalence of inadequacy in fifth quintiles was for vitamins A, C, B1, B2, B3, B6, for Fe, P and Cr, and for vitamins E and D, respectively. In the multivariable adjusted model, the OR for failing to meet ≥ 3 DRI for the highest versus the lowest quintiles of DASH, MEDAS, AHEI-2010, GDQS, aMED and MDS were: 0.03 (95 % CI, 0.02 to 0.03), 0.06 (95 % CI, 0.05 to 0.07), 0.10 (95 % CI, 0.09 to 0.12), 0.05 (95 % CI, 0.04 to 0.06), 0.03 (95 % CI, 0.03 to 0.04), and 0.03 (95 % CI, 0.03 to 0.04), respectively.

Conclusions: adherence to six DQIs showed inverse associations with micronutrient inadequacy. Food-based DQIs could be a useful prevention tool. GDQS and MEDAS do not require deriving nutrient intake data, particularly MEDAS, which is even easier and quicker to fill out.