(P14-067-23) Associations of Diet Quality Scores With Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Young Japanese Women: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objectives: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine associations of seven diet quality scores with cardiometabolic risk factors in young Japanese women.

Methods: Participants were 1084 female dietetics students aged 18–22 years. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated diet history questionnaire. Diet quality scores used included the Diet Quality Score for Japanese (DQSJ), Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI), Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010 (AHEI), Alternate Mediterranean Diet score (AMED), Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension score (DASH), Nutrient-Rich Food Index 9.3 (NRF), and Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top score (JFGST). Fasting blood samples were collected. A cardiometabolic risk score was calculated by summing the z score of waist circumference, blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (multiplied by minus 1), triacylglycerol, glucose, and insulin, with a higher score indicating an unfavorable metabolic status.

Results: After adjustment for potential confounding factors, the odds ratios for the highest quartile of the cardiometabolic risk score comparing the highest with the lowest quartile of diet quality scores were 0.39 (95% CI =0.25–0.61) for DQSJ, 0.59 (0.39–0.88) for HEI, 0.44 (0.30–0.66) for AHEI, 0.80 (0.54–1.18) for AMED, 0.40 (0.26–0.61) for DASH, 0.45 (0.30–0.69) for NRF, and 0.67 (0.45–0.99) for JFGST. The DQSJ, AHEI, and DASH were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with most cardiometabolic risk factors, including lower blood pressure and insulin. Conversely, the AMED, NRF9.3, and JFGST showed significant inverse associations for waist circumference only, with an unexpected positive association between JFGST and systolic blood pressure.

Conclusions: In this cross-sectional study of young Japanese women, a number of diet quality scores were associated with cardiometabolic risk factors in expected directions. These findings should be confirmed in other populations, favorably using a prospective design.

Funding Sources: This research was supported, in part, by grants from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare of Japan.