Metabolic Syndrome Is Associated with Low Diet Quality Assessed by the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) and Low Concentrations of High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol

Abstract

Presenting diet quality of patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS), using a holistic approach is more useful than investigating dietary individual components, but there is still a small amount of research in this area. The aim of this study assessed the diet quality, as measured by the HEI-2015, of MetS patients compared to healthy individuals. The study and control group consisted of 215 patients with MetS and 320 people without MetS, respectively. A nutritional analysis using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to evaluate the nutritional habits in the study and control group. Total HEI-2015 scores were significantly lower in MetS subjects than in those in the control group (65.04 ± 9.71 vs. 66.75 ± 8.88) and the quality of women’s diets was better than the quality of men’s diet (66.83 ± 8.99 vs. 64.75 ± 9.57). We also observed that low HDL-c concentration increased the risk of MetS in the general population the most. Across the population, there was a weak positive correlation between HDL-c concentrations and total HEI-2015 scores and a weak negative correlation between mean waist circumference values and total HEI-2015 scores. HDL-c concentrations may be a key factor in the prevention of MetS and appropriate therapeutic management to increase HDL-c levels may be of key importance in patients diagnosed with MetS.

Plant-based diets and cardiovascular risk factors: a comparison of flexitarians, vegans and omnivores in a cross-sectional study

“…These findings are in line with previous studies that found inverse associations between diet quality and blood lipid parameters [ 84 , 85 ]. Additionally, a cross-sectional polish study ( n = 535) reported an inverse relationship between HEI-2015 scores and the occurrence of the metabolic syndrome [ 86 ].…”

Association of a High Healthy Eating Index Diet with Long-Term Visceral Fat Loss in a Large Longitudinal Study

“…The index is based on assessing the adequacy of food intake, the appropriateness of saturated fat, sugar, and sodium intake, and the balance of energy, fat, and carbohydrate intake [ 14 ]. The MHEI is composed of the adequacy (8 items), moderation (3 items), and balance (3 items) domains of energy intake, and the scores of each item in these domains have been described in an earlier study [ 15 , 16 ]. The MHEI scores are assigned using data from the Dietary Guidelines for Korean Adults and the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) for Koreans in 2015 [ 17 ].…”

Dietary Quality Evidenced by the Healthy Eating Index and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Kuwaiti Schoolchildren

“…Unlike the HEI 2010 version, which combines calories from solid fats, alcoholic beverages, and added sugars as empty calories (these are known to contribute to adiposity), the HEI 2015 version separates saturated fat and added sugars that are suspected to increase the risk of atherosclerosis in children [ 10 ]. The HEI is a reliable and valid instrument [ 11 ] that can be applied for investigating cross-sectional associations between dietary quality and the risk of CVD [ 12 , 13 ]. A meta-analysis of 15 cohort studies (1,020,642 subjects) examined associations between dietary quality assessed using several dietary indices and the risks of all-cause mortality indicated that high HEI scoring was associated with significant risk reduction in CVD incidence and mortality (RR 0.78, 95% CI 0.75 to 0.81; p < 0.00001) by 22% [ 11 ].…”