Study: Mediterranean Diet Lowers CVD Risk

Higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality among individuals not living in the Mediterranean region, according to new research from the United Kingdom.

Many studies have explored the effects of the Mediterranean diet on CVD risk in individuals living in Mediterranean countries, yet the effects of adherence in populations of non-Mediterranean countries is not well established.
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In order to gain a better understanding, the researchers evaluated habitual diets of 23,902 adults who responded to food-frequency questionnaires in the EPIC-Norfolk study at baseline (1993-1997) and follow-up (1998-2000).

The researchers assigned each participant a Mediterranean diet score (MDS), based on the Mediterranean dietary pyramid, and then evaluated that score and 3 other preexisting MDSs against CVD incidents by 2009 and mortality by 2013.

During the study period, 7606 CVD events and 1714 deaths related to CVD had occurred.

Participants who had higher MDS scores, meaning they had higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet, were 6% to 16% less likely to develop CVD compared with those with low adherence.

The researchers also estimated that 3.9% of CVD cases and 12.5% of CVD mortality could be prevented with high adherence to the Mediterranean diet.

“Greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with lower CVD incidence and mortality in the UK,” the researchers conclude. “This diet has an important population health impact for the prevention of CVD.”

—Amanda Balbi

Reference:

Tong TYN, Wareham NJ, Khaw K-T, Imamura F, Forouhi NG. Prospective association of the Mediterranean diet with cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality and its population impact in a non-Mediterranean population: the EPIC-Norfolk study [published online September 29, 2016]. BMC Med. doi:10.1186/s12916-016-0677-4.