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Validation of a literature-based adherence score to Mediterranean diet: the MEDI-LITE score

2017; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 68; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/09637486.2017.1287884

1465-3478

Francesco Sofi, Monica Dinu, Giuditta Pagliai, Rossella Marcucci, Alessandro Casini,

Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling

Numerous studies have demonstrated a relationship between adherence to Mediterranean diet and prevention of chronic degenerative diseases. The aim of this study was to validate a novel instrument to measure adherence to Mediterranean diet based on the literature (the MEDI-LITE score). Two-hundred-and-four clinically healthy subjects completed both the MEDI-LITE score and the validated MedDietScore (MDS). Significant positive correlation between the MEDI-LITE and the MDS scores was found in the study population (R = .70; p < .0001). Furthermore, statistically significant positive correlations were found for all the nine different food groups. According to the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, MEDI-LITE evidenced a significant discriminative capacity between adherents and non-adherents to the Mediterranean diet pattern (optimal cut-off point = 8.50; sensitivity = 96%; specificity = 38%). In conclusion, our findings show that the MEDI-LITE score well correlate with MDS in both global score and in most of the items related to the specific food categories.