Adherence to Various Dietary Quality Indices in the New England Centenarian Study

Q: Which dietary quality indices were evaluated in the NECS participants?

The study assessed four indices: Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), Healthy Eating Index (HEI), the Mediterranean-DASH intervention for neurodegenerative delay (MIND), and the Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI).

Q: Did dietary quality differ significantly between centenarian offspring and controls?

No. The study found no significant differences between centenarian offspring and referent controls across all four indices.

Q: What factors were associated with variation in dietary index scores?

Sex, age, and education were significant predictors. Women scored slightly higher on AHEI and HEI, younger participants scored higher on AHEI, and education was positively associated with all indices.

Sep 29, 2026

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Centenarian offspring in the New England Centenarian Study (NECS) often show survival and health advantages, yet dietary intake patterns were unclear. Using the Harvard 131-item food frequency questionnaire (2005), this study characterized diets with four established indices—AHEI, HEI, MIND, and PHDI—and compared centenarian offspring (335) with controls (128). No significant index differences emerged by offspring status, while sex, age, and education predicted scores. Compared with NHANES, overall index scores were modestly higher, but whole grains and dairy were lower, whereas seafood protein and added sugar were higher.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Study design and dietary indices

Statistical comparisons and predictors

National comparison and key findings

Conclusions and future directions

SESSION 4440 (PAPER) HEALTH EQUITY AND AGING Abstract citation ID: igaf122.2015 ADHERENCE TO VARIOUS DIETARY QUALITY INDICES IN THE NEW ENGLAND CENTENARIAN STUDY Erfei Zhao1, Emma Schluter2, Naglaa El-Abbadi3, Kyla Shea4, Stacy Andersen5, Thomas Perls5, Paola Sebastiani6, and Andres Ardisson Korat4, 1. Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 2. Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 3. Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 4. Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 5. Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 6. Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, United States Centenarian offspring (CO) in the New England Centenarian Study (NECS) typically show survival and health advantages, yet little is known about their dietary intake patterns. In this study, we characterized participants’ diets according to four established patterns: Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), Healthy Eating Index (HEI), Mediterranean-DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND), and Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI) in CO and a referent group and compared them to national dietary surveys. NECS participants (335 CO; 128 controls; mean age: 73.6 years; 55.1% women) completed the Harvard 131-item food frequency questionnaire in 2005. We assessed each index according to published scoring systems and performed linear regression to examine differences by CO status, sex, age, and education, and compared mean scores to nationally representative data (e.g., National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey [NHANES ]) for older individuals. We found no significant differences between CO and referents across all four indices. However, women had slightly higher AHEI and HEI scores than men (P < 0.05) . Younger participants scored higher on AHEI, while education was positively associated with all indices (P < 0.01) . Compared to NHANES participants of similar ages, NECS participants scored modestly higher on all indices; however, intakes of whole grains and dairy were below national averages, while seafood protein and added sugar were higher. In summary, CO showed no advantage in dietary quality compared to controls, whereas sociodemographic factors were significant predictors of eating patterns. Future research should explore the diet-physiology-lifestyle interaction and its combined effect on CO’s survival advantage.

FAQs

Which dietary quality indices were evaluated in the NECS participants?

The study assessed four indices: Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), Healthy Eating Index (HEI), the Mediterranean-DASH intervention for neurodegenerative delay (MIND), and the Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI).

Did dietary quality differ significantly between centenarian offspring and controls?

No. The study found no significant differences between centenarian offspring and referent controls across all four indices.

What factors were associated with variation in dietary index scores?

Sex, age, and education were significant predictors. Women scored slightly higher on AHEI and HEI, younger participants scored higher on AHEI, and education was positively associated with all indices.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Ivy