Introduction: Intervention studies have been designed to change dietary and lifestyle factors associated with chronic diseases, but self-reported behavior change may incorporate intervention-related bias. This study examines plasma nutrient concentration and correlations with self-reports in the Healthy Directions intervention study. The Healthy Directions intervention studies were designed to increase multivitamin use, fruit and vegetable consumption, and physical activity in working-class, multiethnic populations.
Methods: Participants in both studies completed interviewer-administered questionnaires that collected information on sociodemographic and health behavior characteristics. Postintervention blood samples were collected from 209 participants and pooled in pairs within study and within intervention group.
Results: We found significantly higher plasma concentrations of retinol (P = .01) and alpha-carotene (P = .03) in the intervention than in the usual care group. Self-reported multivitamin users had significantly higher concentrations of retinol (P < .001), beta-carotene (P = .02), and alpha-tocopherol (P < .001). Those who reported four or more fruit and vegetable servings per day had higher lutein and zeaxanthin (P = .05) and beta-cryptoxanthin (P = .05) concentrations than those consuming fewer. Plasma nutrient concentrations were associated with reported multivitamin use and fruit and vegetable intake, but the correlations were generally higher in the usual care group.
Conclusion: We found significant postintervention differences in plasma carotenoid and tocopherol concentrations by treatment group, multivitamin use, and fruit and vegetable intake. However, because we only obtained postintervention blood samples, we were unable to assess preintervention-to-postintervention changes in plasma nutrients. Self-reported intakes were significantly correlated with plasma nutrient concentrations, but the strength of the correlations differed by group, suggesting some intervention-related bias in the questionnaire responses.