Effect of imbalance in dietary macronutrients on blood hemoglobin levels: a cross-sectional study in young underweight Japanese women

Relative validity of three diet quality scores derived from the Brief-type Self-administered Diet History Questionnaire and Meal-based Diet History Questionnaire in Japanese adults

No study has validated questionnaires for assessing easily calculable diet quality scores in Japan. The Brief-type self-administered Diet History Questionnaire (BDHQ) is widely used to assess dietary intake in Japan, while the Meal-based Diet History Questionnaire (MDHQ) assesses dietary intake for each meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks) and overall dietary intake. This study examined the relative validity of the BDHQ and MDHQ for assessing three diet quality scores in Japanese adults. A total of 111 women and 111 men aged 30-76 years completed the web MDHQ and BDHQ, followed by 4-non-consective-day weighed dietary records. The diet quality scores examined included the Diet Quality Score for Japanese (DQSJ), Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) score and Alternate Mediterranean Diet (AMED) score. The means of the three scores for overall diet from the BDHQ were not significantly different from those from the dietary records in both sexes, whereas those from the MDHQ were higher than those from the dietary records, except for the DASH and AMED in women. Pearson's correlation coefficients between both questionnaires and dietary records were 0·57-0·63 for DQSJ, 0·49-0·57 for DASH and 0·31-0·49 for AMED across both sexes and both questionnaires. For each meal, Pearson's correlation coefficients between the MDHQ and dietary records ranged from 0·01 (DASH for snacks in women) to 0·55 (DQSJ for breakfast in men), with a median of 0·35. This study showed that the ability of the BDHQ and MDHQ to rank individuals was good for DQSJ and DASH and acceptable for AMED.

Development and Validation of the Meiji Nutritional Profiling System (Meiji NPS) to Address Dietary Needs of Adults and Older Adults in Japan

This study introduces the Meiji Nutritional Profiling System (Meiji NPS), which was specifically designed to respond to age-related shifts in nutrient requirements among Japanese adults (<65 years old) and older adults (≥65 years old). Japan has one of the most aged societies in the world. The health issues of interest are malnutrition and lifestyle-related diseases among adults and frailty among older adults. Two versions of the NPS were developed based on nutrients to encourage (protein, dietary fibers, calcium, iron, and vitamin D), food groups to encourage (fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and dairy), and nutrients to limit (energy, saturated fatty acids, sugars, and salt equivalents). The Meiji NPS for older adults did not include iron or saturated fatty acids. The algorithms were based on the Nutrient-Rich Foods Index (NRF). The convergent validity between the Meiji NPS and the existing NPSs for the same foods was confirmed using Spearman's correlation coefficients (NRF: r = 0.67 for adults and r = 0.60 for older adults; Health Star Rating: r = 0.64 for adults and r = 0.61 for older adults). The Meiji NPS may be useful for nutritional evaluation and reformulation of food products, tailored to adults and older adults to ameliorate health issues in Japan.

Identification of dietary components in association with abdominal aortic calcification

The precise impact of dietary components on vascular health remains incompletely understood. To identify the dietary components and their associations with abdominal aortic calcification (AAC), the data from NHANES was employed in this cross-sectional study. The LASSO method and logistic regression were utilized to identify dietary components that exhibited the strongest association with AAC. Grouped WQS regression analysis was employed to evaluate the combined effects of dietary components on AAC. Furthermore, principal component analysis was employed to identify the primary dietary patterns in the study population. The present analysis included 1862 participants, from whom information on 35 dietary macro- and micronutrient components was obtained through 24-hour dietary recall interviews. The assessment of AAC was performed utilizing dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The LASSO method identified 10 dietary components that were associated with AAC. Total protein, total fiber, vitamin A, and β-cryptoxanthin exhibited a negative association with AAC. Compared to the first quartile, the adjusted odds ratios (95% CIs) for the highest quartile were 0.59 (0.38, 0.93), 0.63 (0.42, 0.93), 0.59 (0.41, 0.84), and 0.68 (0.48, 0.94), respectively. Grouped WQS regression demonstrated a positive association between the lipid group and AAC (aOR: 1.29; 95% CI: 1.12, 1.50), while the proteins and phytochemical group exhibited a negative association with AAC (aOR: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.58, 0.82). For the dietary pattern analysis, high adherence to the plant-based pattern (aOR: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.44, 0.88) was associated with a lower risk of AAC, whereas the caffeine and theobromine pattern (aOR: 1.73; 95% CI: 1.25, 2.41) was associated with a higher risk of AAC. The findings of this study indicate that adopting a dietary pattern characterized by high levels of protein and plant-based foods, as well as reduced levels of fat, may offers potential advantages for the prevention of AAC.