title: Diet and mortality in a cohort of elderly people in a north European community.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In studies from Italy and Greece a Mediterranean dietary pattern predicts overall survival. Despite an increase in the movement of food around the world, there is still a wide spectrum of dietary patterns and the aim of the present study was to examine the association between a Mediterranean dietary pattern and mortality in a cohort of elderly people living in a North European Community.
  
  
  METHODS
  Diet and nutritional status was studied among 202 men and women born 1914-1918 and living in a Danish Municipality (Roskilde) in 1988. They were followed for 6 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A diet score, with seven dietary characteristics of the Mediterranean diet, was associated with a significant reduction in overall mortality. A one unit increase in the diet score predicted a 21% (95% confidence interval 2-36%) reduction in mortality. Subjects with high diet scores (> or = 4) had significantly higher plasma carotene levels than those with a low score and plasma carotene was negatively associated with mortality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A Mediterranean diet score predicts survival in a North European population. Plasma carotene may serve as an intermediate factor in this association.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Panum Institute, Denmark.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Osler
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schroll
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004032:Diet; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D016019:Survival Analysis