Reliability and Validity of the 14-item Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener among the Healthy Iranian Population

Considering the beneficial effect of the Mediterranean diet on health in different populations, we aimed to validate the Persian version of the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS) in the healthy population.

This cross-sectional study was performed on healthy Iranian adult s, in December 2020. The scale was translated into Persian language and then confirmed by back-translation. Data were collected by google forms. To evaluate the content validity, the two concepts of content validity index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR) were used according to the evaluation of 18 medical experts. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) and Pearson’s r correlation coefficient wwere used to evaluate the internal reliability of the items.

Three hundred and four healthy volunteers (mean±SD age: 36.43±10.14 years; mean±SD body mass index: 25.65±4.18 kg/m2 ) were enrolled in our study. According to medical experts’ opinions, CVR was ≥0.714 and CVI was 1. Also, a significant correlation was seen regarding Pearson coefficient for test-retest reliability (r=0.74 , p < 0.001).

The cultural modified persian version of MEDAS had an acceptable validity and reliablity for rapid assessment of adherence to the Mediterranean healthy diet and it can be useful in research and clinical practice.