Development and validation of the Diet Quality Tool for use in cardiovascular disease prevention settings

Abstract

The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a dietary screening tool for use in a secondary cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention setting to identify an individual’s overall dietary quality. The Diet Quality Tool (DQT) was validated against a 4-day food diary for 37 individuals with established CVD attending cardiac rehabilitation. Construct validity was demonstrated for % energy from saturated fat (P = 0.002, r = –0.500), dietary fibre (P < 0.001, r = 0.559) and omega-3 fatty acids (P = 0.048, r = 0.327). Criterion validity was established with a significant difference found between mean (95% CI) dietary intakes of fibre (28.2 g, 4.4 to 17.3) and % total energy from saturated fat (10.6%, –4.8 to –0.8) for those with better DQT scores (>60%) versus those with poorer scores (≤60%) when compared with 4-day food diary nutrient values. The usefulness of the DQT was confirmed by both patients (n = 25) and cardiac rehabilitation health professionals (n = 8). The DQT was found to be a valid and useful dietary assessment tool with potential for use in a secondary CVD prevention setting. The tool has the capacity to be used in a wider variety of settings and further refinement of the tool would enable a greater amount of nutrients to be reliably screened.