Evaluation of a diet quality index based on the probability of adequate nutrient intake (PANDiet) using national French and US dietary surveys.

Abstract

BackgroundExisting diet quality indices often show theoretical and methodological limitations, especially with regard to validation.ObjectiveTo develop a diet quality index based on the probability of adequate nutrient intake (PANDiet) and evaluate its validity using data from French and US populations.Material and methodsThe PANDiet is composed of adequacy probabilities for 24 nutrients grouped into two sub-scores. The relationship between the PANDiet score and energy intake were investigated. We evaluated the construct validity of the index by comparing scores for population sub-groups with 'a priori' differences in diet quality, according to smoking status, energy density, food intakes, plasma folate and carotenoid concentrations. French and US implementations of the PANDiet were developed and evaluated using national nutritional recommendations and dietary surveys.ResultsThe PANDiet was not correlated with energy for the French implementation (r = -0.02, P>0.05) and correlated at a low level for the US implementation (r = -0.11, PConclusionsThe PANDiet provides a single score that measures the adequacy of nutrient intake and reflects diet quality. This index is adaptable for use in different countries and relevant at the individual and population levels.