Associations of dietary diversity scores and micronutrient status in adolescent Mozambican girls
2017
Korkalo, Liisa | Erkkola, Maijaliisa | Heinonen, Arja E. | Freese, Riitta | Selvester, Kerry | Mutanen, Marja
PURPOSE: In low-income settings, dietary diversity scores (DDSs) often predict the micronutrient adequacy of diets, but little is known about whether they predict levels of biochemical indicators of micronutrient status. METHODS: In 2010, we studied two samples of non-pregnant 14- to 19-year-old girls in central Mozambique, the first in January–February (‘hunger season’; n = 227) and the second in May–June (harvest season; n = 223). In this paper, we examined whether a low Women’s Dietary Diversity Score (WDDS) predicts a low concentration of haemoglobin, serum ferritin, zinc, and folate, and plasma retinol in adolescent Mozambican girls. We constructed three scores: WDDS based on 24-h recalls, WDDS15g based on 24-h recall and employing a 15 g limit, and 7dWDDS based on 7-day food frequency questionnaires. Logistic regression models, stratified by season, were used to estimate the odds of having a low concentration of a status indicator (≤25th percentile of the season-specific distribution or cut-off from the literature) in those with a low score compared to those with a higher score. RESULTS: In January–February, after adjusting for confounders, a low (≤3) WDDS and a low (≤5) 7dWDDS were each associated with higher odds of having low serum zinc compared to having a higher score, regardless of which of the two types of cut-offs for serum zinc was used. These associations were not present in May–June. CONCLUSIONS: Our data from Mozambique suggest that dietary diversity is associated with serum zinc, but this association seems to be limited to the hunger season.
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