Background: Diet quality has been associated with improved lung function, but evidence from Latin America remains scant.  

Objective: To investigate the association between diet quality and respiratory health in adults from the general population in the Caribbean coast of Colombia.

Methods: Adults aged 18-70 years old from the Cartagena Cohort Study baseline (clinicaltrials.gov ID NCT05339048) underwent post-bronchodilator spirometry, from which FVC, FEV1/FVC, spirometric restriction and airflow obstruction were calculated. The American Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) score was used to ascertain diet quality (range 0-110, higher=better diet quality). The associations of AHEI score (tertiles) and respiratory outcomes were examined with regressions, adjusting for age, sex, height, body mass index, occupation, residence, education, smoking, physical activity, and total energy intake.

Results: 395 adults (mean age 49.1 ± 16.4; 72% female; mean AHEI-score 44.6 ± 12.8; 5.3% airflow obstruction) were included. Compared to those in the lowest tertile of AHEI-score, those in the highest had a modestly greater FVC [mL] (adjusted [a] b-coeff. 0.01, 95% CI -0.07, 0.09), and FEV1/FVC ([a]b-coeff. 0.50, 95% CI -0.38, 1.39), but these associations were not statistically significant. There was no evidence of association with spirometric restriction or airflow obstruction.

Conclusion:  We found no consistent evidence of a cross-sectional association between diet quality measured as AHEI score and lung function or respiratory impairment.