Validity of The Mediterranean Diet Screener

The Mediterranean Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) screener, a 16‐item tool, has been developed to assess accordance to a Mediterranean‐style food pattern for Americans. Using a cross‐sectional design, construct validity of the MIND screener was measured against a 150‐item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) . Thirty‐four women attending the Rush Heart Center for Women at Rush University Medical Center completed the validated Vioscreen FFQ electronically, and afterwards were administered the screener by phone or electronically. FFQ food and nutrient intakes were estimated with Nutrition Data Systems for Research (NDSR) Version 44 software. The maximum score for the screener is 16, with higher scores reflecting better diet accordance. Women were 61 (51, 66), median (IQR) years of age with BMIs of 28.2 (25.6, 34.6) kg/m 2 and had MIND scores that range from 1 to 12, 7.5 (5.0, 9.0). Intakes of selected foods and nutrients between MIND accordant and non‐accordant women were as follows: Groups Salad Vegetables (servings) Total Vegetables (servings) MUFA % kcal Beta‐Carotene mcg/1000 kcal Lutein + Zeaxanthin mcg/1000 kcal Accordant (n=9) (MIND ≥ 9) 2.2 (1.6, 4.2) 3.0 (1.5, 4.0) 16.9 (13.8, 17.6) 5257 (2339, 7237) 4841 (2473, 9233) Non‐accordant (n=25) (MIND < 9) 0.9 (0.6, 2.0) 0.8 (0.5, 2.0) 13.3 (10.8, 15.9) 1400 (762, 3390) 1980 (1380, 4541) P value, Mann Whitney U 0.005 0.001 0.04 0.02 0.09 Intakes of vegetables, salad vegetables, MUFA, beta‐carotene, and lutein plus zeaxanthin, are consistent with a Mediterranean pattern as captured by this brief screener. Further psychometric testing of this tool is indicated.