The Dietary Patterns Methods Project: Synthesis of Findings across Cohorts and Relevance to Dietary Guidance

Abstract

The Dietary Patterns Methods Project (DPMP) was initiated in 2012 to strengthen research evidence on dietary indices, dietary patterns, and health for upcoming revisions of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, given that the lack of consistent methodology has impeded development of consistent and reliable conclusions. DPMP investigators developed research questions and a standardized approach to index-based dietary analysis. This article presents a synthesis of findings across the cohorts. Standardized analyses were conducted in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, the Multiethnic Cohort, and the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study (WHI-OS). Healthy Eating Index 2010, Alternative Healthy Eating Index 2010 (AHEI-2010), alternate Mediterranean Diet, and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) scores were examined across cohorts for correlations between pairs of indices; concordant classifications into index score quintiles; associations with all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer mortality with the use of Cox proportional hazards models; and dietary intake of foods and nutrients corresponding to index quintiles. Across all cohorts in women and men, there was a high degree of correlation and consistent classifications between index pairs. Higher diet quality (top quintile) was significantly and consistently associated with an 11-28% reduced risk of death due to all causes, CVD, and cancer compared with the lowest quintile, independent of known confounders. This was true for all diet index-mortality associations, with the exception of AHEI-2010 and cancer mortality in WHI-OS women. In all cohorts, survival benefit was greater with a higher-quality diet, and relatively small intake differences distinguished the index quintiles. The reductions in mortality risk started at relatively lower levels of diet quality. Higher scores on each of the indices, signifying higher diet quality, were associated with marked reductions in mortality. Thus, the DPMP findings suggest that all 4 indices capture the essential components of a healthy diet.

Examining Dietary Patterns in Relation to Chronic Disease

“…It provided a systematic comparison of 4 key diet quality indices across multiple cohorts, using standardized measures, to examine their associations with mortality. 12 Results indicated that higher diet quality was significantly and consistently associated with reduced risk of death attributable to all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer in comparison with lower diet quality, independent of known confounders.…”

Telómeros Y Calidad De La Dieta: Una Revision Sistematica

“…Tener una dieta de calidad se asocia significativa y consistentemente con un riesgo de muerte por las causas antes citadas un 11-28% menor (137).…”

Validity of an FFQ to measure nutrient and food intakes in Tanzania

“…In rural SSA, the proportion of adult deaths due to non-communicable diseases has increased: from 16 % in 2003 to 24 % in 2007 in Tanzania (5) and from 35 % in 2003 to 45 % in 2010 in Kenya (6) . One of the potentially modifiable risk factors for noncommunicable diseases is diet, which is well documented to affect the risk for many cardiometabolic diseases and cancers (7)(8)(9)(10) . In SSA, although data remain sparse, it is clear that access to food is increasing but diet quality is worsening.…”