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Mediterranean diet and the incidence of cardiovascular disease: A Spanish cohort

2010; Elsevier BV; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.numecd.2009.10.005

1590-3729

Miguel Ángel Martínez‐González, Martín García–López, Maira Bes‐Rastrollo, Estefanía Toledo, Elena H. Martínez‐Lapiscina, Miguel Delgado‐Rodríguez, Zenaida Vázquez‐Ruiz, Silvia Benito, Juan J. Beunza,

Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet

Background and aim The Mediterranean diet is considered a model for healthy eating. However, prospective evidence in Mediterranean countries evaluating the relationship between this dietary pattern and non-fatal cardiovascular events is scarce. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between the adherence to the Mediterranean diet and the incidence of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events among initially healthy middle-aged adults from the Mediterranean area. Methods and results We followed-up 13,609 participants (60 percent women, mean age: 38 years) initially free of cardiovascular disease (CVD) during 4.9 years. Participants were part of a prospective cohort study of university graduates from all regions of Spain. Baseline diet was assessed using a validated 136-item food-frequency questionnaire. A 9-point score was used to appraise adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Incident clinical events were confirmed by a review of medical records. We observed 100 incident cases of CVD. In multivariate analyses, participants with the highest adherence to the Mediterranean diet (score>6) exhibited a lower cardiovascular risk (hazard ratio=0.41, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.18–0.95) compared to those with the lowest score (<3). For each 2-point increment in the score, the adjusted hazard ratios were 0.80 (95% CI: 0.62–1.02) for total CVD and 0.74 (0.55–0.99) for coronary heart disease. Conclusions There is an inverse association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and the incidence of fatal and non-fatal CVD in initially healthy middle-aged adults.