Adherence to a Mediterranean-type diet and reduced prevalence of clustered cardiovascular risk factors in a cohort of 3,204 high-risk patients.
BACKGROUND
The Mediterranean food pattern (MeDiet) has been suggested to have beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk factors. Scarcity of assessment of this effect on large samples of patients at high risk is, however, observed. Our objective was to estimate the association between adherence to MeDiet and the prevalence of risk factors in 3,204 asymptomatic high-risk patients.


METHODS
Cross-sectional assessment of baseline characteristics of participants in a primary prevention trial.


METHODS
Participants were assessed by their usual primary-care physicians to ascertain the prevalence of diet-related cardiovascular risk factors (diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, or obesity) using standard diagnostic criteria. A dietitian interviewed each participant to obtain a 14-point score measuring the degree of adherence to MeDiet.


RESULTS
Adherence to MeDiet was inversely associated with individual risk factors and, above all, with the clustering of them. The multivariate adjusted odds ratio to present simultaneously the four risk factors for those above the median value of the MeDiet score was 0.67 (95% confidence interval: 0.53-0.85). The multivariate odds ratios for successive categories of adherence to MeDiet were 1 (ref.), 1.03, 0.85, 0.70 and 0.54 (P for trend <0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Following a MeDiet was inversely associated with the clustering of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and hypercholesterolemia among high-risk patients.
Sánchez-Taínta
Ana
A
Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Clínica Universitaria-University of Navarra, Irunlarrea, Pamplona, Spain.
Estruch
Ramón
R
Bulló
Mónica
M
Corella
Dolores
D
Gómez-Gracia
Enrique
E
Fiol
Miquel
M
Algorta
Jaime
J
Covas
María-Isabel
MI
Lapetra
José
J
Zazpe
Itziar
I
Ruiz-Gutiérrez
Valentina
V
Ros
Emilio
E
Martínez-González
Miguel A
MA
D000368:Aged; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D038441:Diet, Mediterranean; D050171:Dyslipidemias / Q000150:complications / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010349:Patient Compliance; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology