Identification of diet-disease relations through dietary pattern approach: A review

Recently, diet-disease relations have been recommended to be looked for through dietary pattern approach rather than traditional approach (nutrient or food-oriented approach). Dietary pattern analysis allows consideration of the entire diet, rather than individual foods or ingredients. This approach can be particularly useful when traditional analyses in nutritional epidemiology cannot move beyond weak associations. The dietary pattern approach is more realistic than the food-based or nutrient approach, in that inter-correlations and biological interactions between foods and nutrients confound the associations of a single food or nutrient with a certain chronic disease. Several studies provide evidence supporting use of the dietary pattern approach in nutritional epidemiology. Most of these studies indicate that empirically derived food intake patterns by statistical methods are related to chronic diseases. This review aims to provide more detailed information about the methods of measurement, advantages and disadvantages of the dietary pattern approach and to assess whether major dietary patterns are related to the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance.