CVD is the leading cause of death worldwide. Diet is a key modifiable component in the development of CVD. No official UK diet quality index exists for use in UK nutritional epidemiological studies. The aims of this study are to: (i) develop a diet quality index based on components of UK dietary reference values (DRV) and (ii) determine the association between the index, the existing UK nutrient profile (NP) model and a comprehensive range of cardiometabolic risk markers among a British adult population. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from the Airwave Health Monitoring Study (n 5848). Dietary intake was measured by 7-d food diary and metabolic risk using waist circumference, BMI, blood lipid profile, glycated Hb (HbA1c) and blood pressure measurements. Diet quality was assessed using the novel DRV index and NP model. Associations between diet and cardiometabolic risk were analysed via multivariate linear models and logistic regression. A two-point increase in NP score was associated with total cholesterol (β -0·33 mmol/l, P<0·0001) and HbA1c (β -0·01 %, P<0·0001). A two-point increase in DRV score was associated with waist circumference (β -0·56 cm, P<0·0001), BMI (β -0·15 kg/m2, P<0·0001), total cholesterol (β -0·06 mmol/l, P<0·0001) and HbA1c (β -0·02 %, P=0·002). A one-point increase in DRV score was associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) (OR 0·94, P=0·01) and obesity (OR 0·95, P<0·0001). The DRV index is associated with overall diet quality and risk factors for CVD and T2D, supporting its application in nutritional epidemiological studies investigating CVD risk in a UK population.
Keywords: BP blood pressure; DRV dietary reference value; HbA1c glycated Hb; NP nutrient profile; SBP systolic BP; T2D type 2 diabetes; TEI total energy intake; CVD; Diet quality; Nutrient profile; Type 2 diabetes.