The Global Diet Quality Score is associated with nutrient adequacy and depression among Vietnamese youths

Abstract

The Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS) has been recommended as a simple diet quality metric that is reflective of both nutrient adequacy and noncommunicable disease outcomes. It has been validated among women of reproductive age (15–49 years) in diverse settings but not specifically among younger women. This paper examines the relationship between the GDQS and nutrient adequacy, anthropometric outcomes, and depressive symptoms among 1001 Vietnamese young women aged 16–22 years. In energy‐adjusted models, the GDQS was significantly (p < 0.05) and positively correlated with intakes of protein (ρ = 0.23), total fat (ρ = 0.06), nine micronutrients (calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin C, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, and vitamin A) (ρ = 0.12–0.35), and the mean probability of adequacy of micronutrients (ρ = 0.28). Compared to young women with optimal GDQS, those with low and very low GDQS were two to five times more likely to have a mean probability of nutrient adequacy less than 50% and showed two to three times higher odds for depression. No association was observed for GDQS and anthropometric outcomes. In conclusion, the GDQS performed well in capturing nutrient adequacy and depressive symptoms among Vietnamese young women. Further research is warranted to explore the relationship between diet quality and depression in other settings.

Mobilizing adolescents and young women to promote healthy diets in urban settings of Colombia and Vietnam: Lessons from two action‐research programs

“…Workers tended to consume significantly lower proportions of fast foods, instant noodles, or baked/grain‐based sweets than students but a higher proportion of other unhealthy items (soft drinks, sweets, processed meats) 21 . Second, with reference to mental health, we found a significant association between diet quality as measured by the GDQS and behavioral health/depression 22 . These two findings, taken again below, offer insights on how factors such as these should be considered when designing nutritional behavior change interventions.…”

“…Vietnam's diets being reasonably diverse, about 60% of AYW achieved minimum dietary diversity for women (at least five food groups) and ate many of the foods categorized as healthy by the GDQS, but intake levels were too low relative to national dietary guidelines. This, combined with the common consumption of unhealthy foods (processed meats, baked sweets, instant noodles) resulted in low GDQS scores, with 32% of the sample classified as moderate and 23% as high risk of poor‐quality diets and related NCD outcomes 22 . Similar to the findings in Medellin, the Optifood analysis for the Vietnam sample found that improving nutrient intake based solely on local foods would be challenging.…”

“…In Vietnam, reported mental health burden ranged from 8% to 29%, with girls displaying higher rates of emotional problems, such as anxiety and depression 38,39 . Comparing AYW from our sample using the GDQS, we found those with low/very low GDQS scores to have 2–3 times higher risk for depression than those with higher scores 22 . While the directionality of the effect cannot be asserted (does depression trigger poor diet or is it the other way around?…”

“…A final set of findings refers to the relationship between nutrition and behavioral health. Our participant cohort was of an age known to be sensitive to behavioral health disorders 32 and our Vietnam data showed that AYW's mental health could be affected by the quality of their nutrition 22 . Earlier studies have highlighted poor diet as a risk factor for mental health disorders in the population at large 33 .…”