Planetary health diet, mediterranean diet and micronutrient intake adequacy in the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN) cohort

Abstract

Purpose: Our study aimed to investigate and compare the association between adherence to a priori Planetary Health Diet Index and two well-known Mediterranean indices, the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) and the Mediterranean Adherence Screener (MEDAS), and micronutrient intake adequacy. Methods: We assessed 18,259 Spanish university graduates at baseline who participated in the SUN cohort using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Inadequate intake of Zn, I, Se, Fe, Ca, P, Mg, Cr, K, vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, C, A, D, E, and folic acid was evaluated using the estimated average requirement (EAR) cut-point approach and the probabilistic approach. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the probability of failing to meet EAR for either ≥ 3 or ≥ 6 micronutrients. Results: Participants with higher adherence to the Planetary Health Diet had a lower risk of overall inadequacy, while the Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet) showed even greater nutritional adequacy. The adjusted Odds Ratio (OR) for failing to meet ≥ 3 EAR was 0·24 (95% CI 0·21 − 0·27) for the Planetary Health Diet Index, whereas it was substantially lower for MEDAS with OR = 0·12, 95% CI 0·11 − 0·13, and for MDS with OR = 0·09, 95% CI 0·08 − 0·10, always for the comparison of the fourth v. first quartile and using the probabilistic approach method. Conclusion: In this Mediterranean cohort, better adherence to both the Planetary Health Diet and the MedDiet (with a stronger inverse association) showed lower risk of micronutrient inadequacy.