Mediterranean Diet And Prevention Of Death From Major Chronic Diseases

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Mediterranean Diet And Prevention Of Death From Major Chronic Diseases

Living - Health & Fitness

TS-Si News Service

Sunday, 14 September 2008 17:30

Oxford, UK. The Mediterranean diet got its name from the populations that border the Mediterranean Sea. The diet is rich in fruits, fish, grains, nuts, olive oil, and vegetables, but low in alcohol, dairy products, and meat. advocates often promote it as a model of healthy eating that contributes to better health and quality of life. But what do the data say? Is the diet's reputation well-deserved?

Previous research on the Mediterranean diet suggests that it has a protective role in cardiovascular disease and cancer, but no study has reviewed all the available data for a possible association between sticking to the Mediterranean diet, premature death, and the occurrence of chronic diseases in the general population.

However, a new study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) says that sticking to a full Mediterranean diet provides substantial protection against major chronic diseases including heart disease, cancer and Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.

The meta-analysis systematically reviewed all of the prospective cohort studies that analysed the relation between adherence to a Mediterranean diet, mortality, and incidence of chronic diseases in a primary prevention setting.

A team of researchers from the Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi (Florence, Italy) assessed 12 international studies, which collectively included more than 1.5 million participants whose dietary habits and health were tracked for follow-up periods ranging from three to 18 years. All the studies examined the concept of using a numerical score to estimate how much people stuck to the diet, called an adherence score.

The researchers found that people who stuck strictly to a Mediterranean diet had significant improvements in their health, including a

9% drop in overall mortality,
9% drop in mortality from cardiovascular disease,
13% reduction in incidence of Parkinson and Alzheimer's disease, and
6% reduction in cancer.

The findings confirm the current guidelines and recommendations from all major scientific institutions that encourage a Mediterranean-like dietary pattern for the prevention of major chronic diseases.

A 'score' based on adherence to the Mediterranean diet could be used as an effective preventive tool, say the authors. The adherence score "… could be an effective preventive tool for reducing the risk of mortality and morbidity in the general population."

Affiliations

• Francesco Sofi: researcher in clinical nutrition, Department of Medical and Surgical Critical Care, Thrombosis Centre, Università degli Studi di Firenze (UNIFI); Florence, Italy.

• Francesca Cesari: researcher, Regional Agency for Nutrition, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi; Florence, Italy.

• Rosanna Abbate: full professor of internal medicine, Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation, Onlus IRCCS, Impruneta; Florence, Italy.

• Gian Franco Gensini: full professor of internal medicine, Department of Clinical Pathophysiology, Unit of Clinical Nutrition, Università degli Studi di Firenze (UNIFI); Florence, Italy.

• Alessandro Casini: associate professor of clinical nutrition, Centro Interdipartimentale per la Ricerca e la Valorizzazione degli Alimenti (CeRA), Università degli Studi di Firenze (UNIFI); Florence, Italy.

Adherence to Mediterranean diet and health status: meta-analysis. Francesco Sofi, Francesca Cesari, Rosanna Abbate, Gian Franco Gensini, Alessandro Casini. British Medical Journal (BMJ) 2008 337:a1344. doi: 10.1136 / bmj.a1344

Abstract

Objective. To systematically review all the prospective cohort studies that have analysed the relation between adherence to a Mediterranean diet, mortality, and incidence of chronic diseases in a primary prevention setting.

Design. Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.

Data sources. English and non-English publications in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from 1966 to 30 June 2008.zzzzzStudies reviewed. Studies that analysed prospectively the association between adherence to a Mediterranean diet, mortality, and incidence of diseases; 12 studies, with a total of 1 574 299 subjects followed for a time ranging from three to 18 years were included.

Results. The cumulative analysis among eight cohorts (514 816 subjects and 33 576 deaths) evaluating overall mortality in relation to adherence to a Mediterranean diet showed that a two point increase in the adherence score was significantly associated with a reduced risk of mortality (pooled relative risk 0.91, 95% confidence interval 0.89 to 0.94). Likewise, the analyses showed a beneficial role for greater adherence to a Mediterranean diet on cardiovascular mortality (pooled relative risk 0.91, 0.87 to 0.95), incidence of or mortality from cancer (0.94, 0.92 to 0.96), and incidence of Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease (0.87, 0.80 to 0.96).

Conclusions. Greater adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with a significant improvement in health status, as seen by a significant reduction in overall mortality (9%), mortality from cardiovascular diseases (9%), incidence of or mortality from cancer (6%), and incidence of Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease (13%). These results seem to be clinically relevant for public health, in particular for encouraging a Mediterranean-like dietary pattern for primary prevention of major chronic diseases.

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Last Updated on Thursday, 06 November 2008 16:30

TS-Siis dedicated to the acceptance, legal protection, and medical treatment of individuals correcting the misalignment of their brains and their anatomical sex, while supporting their transition into society as hormonally reconstituted and surgically corrected citizens.

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