Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Socioeconomic and psychosocial determinants of adherence to the Mediterranean diet in a general adult Italian population

2018; Oxford University Press; Volume: 29; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1093/eurpub/cky127

1464-360X

Emilia Ruggiero, Augusto Di Castelnuovo, Simona Costanzo, Mariarosaria Persichillo, Francesca Bracone, Chiara Cerletti, Maria Benedetta Donati, Giovanni de Gaetano, Licia Iacoviello, Marialaura Bonaccio, Licia Iacoviello, Americo Bonanni, Marialaura Bonaccio, Americo Bonanni, Chiara Cerletti, Simona Costanzo, Giovanni de Gaetano, Augusto Di Castelnuovo, Maria Benedetta Donati, Licia Iacoviello, Mariarosaria Persichillo, Mariarosaria Persichillo, Francesco Zito, Lucia Aurisano, Paola Barisciano, Marialaura Bonaccio, Francesca Bracone, Francesca D Aversa, Francesca De Lucia, Giovanna Galuppo, Teresa Panzera, Filippo Petrucci, Anna Sciarretta, Angelita Verna, Simona Costanzo, Augusto Di Castelnuovo, Marco Olivieri,

Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling

To evaluate the adherence to Mediterranean diet (MD) and its major socioeconomic and psychosocial determinants in a large sample of the Italian population, covering three main geographical areas of the Country (Southern, Central and Northern).Data were obtained from the Italian Nutrition & Health Survey (INHES), including a total of 7, 430 participants (age >20) recruited from all over Italy (2010-13). Dietary information was collected by the European Food Propensity Questionnaire. Adherence to MD was assessed by using the MedDietScore based on 11 food groups. Associations were tested by multivariable logistic regression analysis (Odds ratio [OR] with 95% CI).Adherence to MD was higher in Southern Italy as compared with the Northern (OR = 1.34; 95% CI 1.18-1.53), and was closely associated with adult age (OR= 2.40; 1.61-3.58 for those aged > 75 years as compared with 20-34 years) and higher educational level (OR = 1.77; 1.40-2.24 for post-secondary education as opposed to lowest educational attainment). Subjects reporting adverse life events and those with family-related stress were less likely to show an optimal adherence to MD (OR = 0.55; 0.46-0.67 and OR = 0.44; 0.28-0.69, for highest vs. lowest tertile, respectively) as compared with adequate controls. A number of eating behaviours were also inversely associated with MD, such as consuming higher amount of alcohol in the weekend than in week days.Adherence to MD is strongly determined by age, geographical area and educational level. Psychosocial factors and several eating behaviours are also closely associated.