Assessment of diet quality according to AHEI-2010 in the PURE Poland study

Objectives
The Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) focuses on the elements of nutrition that have the strongest correlation with the risk of chronic diseases. The aim of the analysis was to determine the quality of the diet according to the AHEI score of participants of PURE Poland cohort and to ascertain whether there was an association between AHEI score and risk of cardiometabolic syndrome (CardMetS).

Material and methods
The Polish cohort of the PURE study was established in 2007 in Wrocław. The population of the analysis consists of 2026 participants aged between 30 and 85 years. The AHEI score was calculated based on the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). CardMetS was diagnosed with at least three out of the following five symptoms: elevated blood glucose, elevated blood pressure, low HDL, high triglycerides, and abdominal obesity. Statistical significance was stated when p < 0.05.

Results
The average AHEI score of the participants was 46.66. Participants living in rural areas had significantly (p < 0.05) lower AHEI score of the diet than those living in urban areas (mean: 44.01 vs. 48.48). Men had significantly (p < 0.05) lower AHEI score than women (mean 45.64 vs. 47.25). There was weak but significant positive correlation between the AHEI score and age of participants (correlation of 0.1) and with level of education (correlation of 0.15). Participants with CardMetS had significantly lower AHEI score of the diet than participants without CardMetS (p = 0.042).

Conclusions
Programs of prevention should be provided mainly for middle aged men, living in rural areas, with lower level of education. Higher AHEI score of the diet was associated with lower risk of cardiometabolic syndrome.