Adaptation and validation of a protein intake screening tool for a UK adult population

Esme R. Tuttiett*, Elysa Ioannou, Hanneke A.H. Wijnhoven, Bernard M. Corfe, Elizabeth A. Williams

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Adequate dietary protein intake is important in human subjects for maintaining muscle turnover, determining the protein content of tissues and thus the preservation of muscle mass and function as we age. A screening tool to assess if an older individual is likely to have a lower dietary protein intake (predicted probability of protein intake ≤1.0 g/kg per d), has been developed for a Netherlands dietary profile, but this has not been validated in a UK population. This study aimed to adapt and then validate the protein screening tool for use in a UK population. Amendment of the tool was undertaken using data from UK BioBank and the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey to reflect protein sources in the UK diet. Validation of the amended version of the protein screener screening tool was conducted using protein intake derived from a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) in a sample of UK adults (n = 184) (age range 18-91 years) as the reference standard. Using the FFQ, 40Â % of respondents (n = 74) reported a protein intake of ≤1.0 g per kg body mass. The discriminative accuracy of the amended screener was tested using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The area under the curve for the ROC was 0.731 (95Â % CI 0.657, 0.805), indicating that the amended screener may be a valid tool to screen for individuals consuming ≤1.0 g/kg adjusted BM/d in an adult UK population. This protein screener tool is a potential method to screen individuals with a likelihood of habitually consuming protein intakes of ≤1.0 g/kg per d. Further validation is needed using a more robust dietary intake methodology and for specific groups, such as older adults. The screener may be applicable across healthcare, clinical and research applications.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere100
Pages (from-to)1-7
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Nutritional Science
Volume11
Early online date10 Nov 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and Versus Arthritis as part of the Medical Research Council Versus Arthritis Centre for Integrated Research into Musculoskeletal Ageing (CIMA) [MR/R502182/1]. The MRC Versus Arthritis Centre for Integrated Research into Musculoskeletal Ageing is a collaboration between the Universities of Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society.

Keywords

  • Nutritional assessment
  • Protein intake
  • Rapid screening
  • Validation

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