| Literature DB >> 34804518 |
Abstract
When evaluating the impact of macronutrient intakes on health outcomes, researchers in nutritional epidemiology are mostly interested in two types of information: the relative importance of the individual macronutrients and the absolute effect of total energy intake. However, the usual substitution models do not allow these separate effects to be disentangled. Dietary data are typical examples of compositional data, which convey relative information and are, therefore, meaningfully expressed in the form of ratios. Various formulations of log-ratios have been proposed as a means of analysing compositional data, and their interrelationships when they are used as predictors in regression models have been previously reported. This note describes the application of distinct log-ratio transformations to the composition of dietary macronutrients and discusses the interpretative implications of using them as explanatory variables in regression models together with a term for the total composition (total energy intake). It also provides examples that consider serum glucose levels as the health outcome and are based on data coming from an Italian population-based study. The log-ratio transformation of dietary data has both numerical and conceptual advantages, and overcomes the drawbacks of traditional substitution models.Entities:
Keywords: Compositional data; Dietary data; Energy intake; Log-ratio transformation; Macronutrients; Nutrient balances
Mesh:
Year: 2021 PMID: 34804518 PMCID: PMC8596073 DOI: 10.1017/jns.2021.93
Source DB: PubMed Journal: J Nutr Sci ISSN: 2048-6790
Characteristics of four fictitious diets
| Diet | Macronutrient composition: kcal (%) | Total calories (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EC | EP | EF | TE | |
| A | 1100 (55·0) | 300 (15·0) | 600 (30·0) | 2000 (100·0) |
| B | 1400 (61·0) | 300 (13·0) | 600 (26·0) | |
| C | 1400 (70·0) | 300 (15·0) | 2000 (100·0) | |
| D | 1100 (48·0) | 300 (13·0) | 2300 (100·0) | |
Characteristics of three fictitious diets
| Diet | Macronutrient composition: kcal (%) | Total calories (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EC | EP | EF | TE | |
| E | 550 (55·0) | 150 (15·0) | 300 (30·0) | 1000 (100·0) |
| A | 1100 (55·0) | 300 (15·0) | 600 (30·0) | 2000 (100·0) |
| F | 1650 (55·0) | 450 (15·0) | 900 (30·0) | 3000 (100·0) |
Results of the linear regression analysis of serum glucose levels [ln(mg/ml)] in relation to total energy and fibre intake and macronutrient centred log-ratio (clr) coordinates
| Coefficient | Standard error | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total energy ( | −0·0038 | 0·0078 | 0·627 |
| Total fibre | 0·0191 | 0·0144 | 0·186 |
| Clr-coordinates: | |||
| Proteins | 0·0166 | 0·0274 | 0·546 |
| Starches | −0·0553 | 0·0175 | 0·002 |
| Simple sugars | −0·0415 | 0·0208 | 0·047 |
| Unsaturated fats | −0·0209 | 0·0272 | 0·442 |
| Saturated fats | |||
g(.): geometric mean of all of the components of the macronutrient composition.
Results of the linear regression analysis of serum glucose levels [ln(mg/ml)] in relation to total energy and fibre intake and macronutrient balances (orthogonal coordinates)
| Coefficient | Standard error | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Model A | |||
| Total energy ( | −0·0038 | 0·0078 | 0·627 |
| Total fibre | 0·0191 | 0·0144 | 0·186 |
| Macronutrient balances: | |||
| Fats | 0·0195 | 0·0131 | 0·135 |
| Proteins | 0·0433 | 0·0130 | 0·001 |
| Starches | −0·0069 | 0·0061 | 0·256 |
| Unsaturated | −0·0105 | 0·0136 | 0·442 |
| Model B | |||
| Total energy ( | −0·0030 | 0·0173 | 0·860 |
| Total fibre | 0·0154 | 0·0145 | 0·288 |
| Macronutrient balances: | |||
| Fats | 0·0169 | 0·0120 | 0·158 |
| Proteins | 0·0435 | 0·0131 | 0·001 |
| Starches | −0·0075 | 0·0063 | 0·236 |
| Unsaturated | −0·0083 | 0·0133 | 0·533 |
Results of the linear regression analysis of serum glucose levels [ln(mg/ml)] in relation to total energy and fibre intake and macronutrient balances (simplified pivot coordinates)
| Coefficient | Standard error | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total energy ( | −0·0030 | 0·0173 | 0·860 |
| Total fibre | 0·0154 | 0·0145 | 0·288 |
| Pivot balance (the first coordinate in each of the five runs) | |||
| Proteins | 0·0378 | 0·0155 | 0·015 |
| Starches | −0·0349 | 0·0090 | 0·000 |
| Simple sugars | −0·0199 | 0·0080 | 0·014 |
| Unsaturated fats | 0·0002 | 0·0134 | 0·990 |
| Saturated fats | 0·0167 | 0·0156 | 0·284 |
Each run involves four balances, of which the first is the pivot.
Results of the linear regression analysis of serum glucose levels [ln(mg/ml)] in relation to total energy and fibre intake and macronutrient additive log-ratio (alr) coordinates
| Coefficient | Standard error | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total energy ( | −0·0030 | 0·0173 | 0·860 |
| Total fibre | 0·0154 | 0·0145 | 0·288 |
| Alr-coordinates: | |||
| Proteins | 0·0378 | 0·0155 | 0·015 |
| Starches | −0·0349 | 0·0090 | 0·000 |
| Simple sugars | −0·0199 | 0·0080 | 0·014 |
| Unsaturated fats | 0·0002 | 0·0134 | 0·990 |
| Saturated fats | 0·0167 | 0·0156 | 0·284 |
Obtained in a different run that included in the model the four alr(s) with unsaturated fats as the denominator.
| PR | ST | SS | UF | SF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| −1 | −1 | −1 | +1 | +1 |
| +1 | −1 | −1 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | +1 | −1 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | −1 |