RESEARCH - Lower Healthy Eating Index-2005 quality scores in older women with RA

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Public Health Nutr. 2010 Aug;13(8):1170-7. Epub 2010 Mar 1.

Lower Healthy Eating Index-2005 dietary quality scores in older women

with rheumatoid arthritis v. healthy controls.

Grimstvedt ME, Woolf K, Milliron BJ, Manore MM.

Department of Exercise and Wellness, Arizona State University, 7350 E.

Unity Avenue, Mesa, AZ 85212, USA.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess the dietary quality of older women with and

without rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using the Healthy Eating Index-2005

(HEI-2005) to identify potential strategies to improve the nutritional

status.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional. Diet was assessed using 7 d food records and

analysed for nutrient composition (Food Processor v. 7.11). Diet

quality was determined using the HEI-2005, a measure of compliance

with 2005 US Dietary Guidelines. Individuals with RA completed a

self-reported evaluation of arthritis (pain scale and disability

index). Independent two-tailed t tests or Mann-Whitney tests compared

the differences between groups and correlations were computed between

HEI-2005 and measures of disease reactivity.

SETTING: Arizona, USA.

SUBJECTS: Older (> or = 55 years) women (n 108) with RA (n 52) and

healthy controls (HC; n 56).

RESULTS: There were no differences between groups in age, weight, or

BMI (kg/m2). HC participants had higher mean HEI-2005 scores for whole

fruit (cups; P = 0.02), total fruit (cups; P = 0.05), whole grains

(oz; P = 0.004), oil (g; P = 0.05) and total HEI score (P = 0.04) than

the RA group. In the RA group, these same HEI components were

inversely correlated with disability index (r = -0.20, P = 0.04).

Participants with RA reported lower mean intakes of carbohydrate (g; P

= 0.02), fibre (g; P = 0.01) and vitamin C (mg; P = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study examining the dietary quality in

older women with and without RA using the HEI-2005. Living with RA was

associated with significantly lower dietary quality. Since even small

changes in dietary quality can translate into better nutritional

status, future interventions should focus on increasing dietary

quality in this high-risk group.

PMID: 20188003

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20188003

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