Diet quality indices and risk of metabolic syndrome among postmenopausal women of Mexican ethnic descent in the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome is higher among minority populations, including individuals of Mexican ethnic descent. Whether alignment to healthy dietary patterns is associated with lower risk of metabolic syndrome in this population is largely unknown. OBJECTIVE: To prospectively evaluate the associations between a priori diet quality scores and risk of metabolic syndrome and its components among postmenopausal women of Mexican ethnic descent. METHODS: A total of 334 women of Mexican ethnic descent who participated in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) observational study without metabolic syndrome or diabetes at baseline (1993–1998) were included. Baseline diets were scored with the Alternate Mediterranean Diet (aMED), the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), the Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2010), the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS), and the traditional Mexican Diet (MexD) score. Multivariable linear and logistic regression models were used to test the associations between baseline diet quality and risk of metabolic syndrome and its individual components at follow-up (2012-2013). RESULTS: Approximately 16% of women met the criteria for metabolic syndrome at follow-up. None of the diet quality indices were associated with risk of metabolic syndrome. However, higher vs lower DASH scores were associated with lower waist circumference (85.2 vs 88.0 cm) and glucose concentrations (90.0 vs 95.1 mg/dL), and higher HDL cholesterol (62.6 vs 59.0 mg/dL), while higher vs lower HEI-2010 scores were associated with lower waist circumference (83.9 vs 88.1 cm), triglycerides (103 vs 117 mg/dL) and glucose concentrations (89.5 vs 94.4 mg/dL), and higher HDL cholesterol levels (63.9 vs 58.5 mg/dL). CONCLUSIONS: Diet quality was not associated with risk of metabolic syndrome in this population. However, the results suggest that alignment to DASH and HEI-2010 recommendations may be beneficial for reducing some individual components of metabolic syndrome among postmenopausal women of Mexican descent.