Associations of dietary diversity scores and micronutrient status in adolescent Mozambican girls

Abstract

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 ( Results In January-February, after adjusting for confounders, a low ( 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.