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. 2021 Aug 25;13(9):2949.
doi: 10.3390/nu13092949.

The Med-NKQ: A Reliable Mediterranean Diet Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire for Cardiovascular Disease

Carissa Moroney  1 , Fiona O'Leary  2 , Victoria M Flood  1   3
Affiliations

The Med-NKQ: A Reliable Mediterranean Diet Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire for Cardiovascular Disease

Carissa Moroney et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

The Mediterranean diet (MD) has significant benefits for cardiovascular disease (CVD), yet clinicians lack reliable tools to measure patient knowledge. This study aimed to develop a short tool to test knowledge of MD related to cardiac health. Themes included foods to reduce CVD risk factors, quantification of servings, and common MD dietary patterns; a maximum score of 42 was determined for correct responses. Content validity was assessed through expert consensus in a Delphi survey. A 70% level of agreement was set for each domain tested. Repeatability was assessed via a test-retest protocol in a sample with self-reported CVD, advertised through social media and administered online. Ten and six of twenty-five invited experts responded to round one and two of the Delphi survey respectively. All items achieved greater than 70% consensus. Twenty people completed the repeatability study. A paired t-test found no significant difference in mean scores between the two test periods (Test one, 28 (standard deviation (SD) 5.4). Test two 29.5, (SD 5.5), p = 0.174) and a Bland-Altman Plot indicated no bias between the two surveys. The Med-NKQ demonstrated good content validity and reliability in people with CVD, and is short and easy to administer, making it practical in clinical and research settings.

Keywords: cardiovascular disease; delphi; mediterranean diet; nutrition knowledge; repeatability; survey.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Delphi Round 1 participant responses (n = 10), in relation to agreement of answer, relevancy, and whether modification is required. Q= question number.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Delphi Round 2 participant responses (n = 6), in relation to agreement of answer, relevancy, and whether modification is required. Q= question number.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Bland Altman Plot assessing the reliability of Med-NKQ-20 during test re-test. The plot shows the mean difference (…..…..), 95% limits of agreement (LOA, - - - - - - - ), and fitted regression line (_______), for overall test score (test 2-test 1), β = 0.032, t = 0.136 p = 0.893, 95% CI (−0.469, 0.535), equation of line y = 0.032x + 1.55.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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