(P18-032-24) Diet Quality Was Associated With Insulin Taking Status Among Adults From Indiana

Objectives: The urgency to prevent and manage diabetes and the critical role that diet plays in diabetes management justifies a need to determine potential dietary intake and behavioral differences related to insulin taking status. This pilot cross-sectional study explored associations between dietary quality, macronutrient composition, and meal and snack frequency between a group of healthy adults and a group taking insulin.

Methods: A characteristics questionnaire and two Automated Self-Assisted 24-hour dietary recalls (one weekday and one weekend day) were collected from 152 adults aged 20-65 years (96 healthy adults and 56 adults currently taking insulin) living in Indiana from 2022 to 2023. Chi-square was used to compare characteristics of the two groups and to identify potential confounders for adjustment in the regression models. Then, macronutrient intake, total and component diet quality using the Healthy Eating Index-2015, and meal and snack frequency were calculated and compared between the healthy and insulin taking groups using adjusted linear regression models.

Results: The diet quality scores of the healthy group and insulin taking group were 56.4 ± 12.6 and 48.8± 14.1, respectively, which were lower than the average U.S. diet quality score of 59. The healthy adults had a significantly higher total diet quality (β = −7.5 ± 2.4, p=0.003), and higher scores in greens and beans (β = −0.9 ± 0.4, p=0.02), whole fruit (β = −0.8± 0.4, p=0.05), seafood and plant proteins (β = −1.1± 0.4, p=0.004), and saturated fats (β = −1.3 ± 0.6, p=0.05) components compared to the group taking insulin. Neither macronutrient intakes nor meal and snack frequency were significantly different among the healthy and insulin taking groups.

Conclusions: Diet quality was poor among both healthy and insulin taking groups and was significantly associated with insulin taking status among Indiana adults. Evidence of low diet quality of insulin takers may help to inform and justify nutrition education to prevent, control and manage diabetes and to tailor consumer education.

Funding Sources: Eli Lilly and company