Mediterranean diet may reduce risk of heart disease and diabetes

• The Mediterranean diet has many known health benefits, and experts are still studying the benefits of this eating pattern.

• One study found that following a Mediterranean diet may help reduce the risk of moving from one to multiple cardiometabolic diseases such as heart attack and stroke, especially in a shorter time frame.

• People can take several steps to reduce their risk of cardiometabolic multimorbidity.

Mediterranean diet focuses on plant-based foods, uses olive oil, and includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

There has been a lot of interest in the health benefits of this diet, especially when it comes to cardiovascular health.

A recent study published in Nutrition Journal looked at how following a Mediterranean diet is associated with the risk of multiple cardiometabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes And heart attacks.

The researchers found that following a Mediterranean diet may reduce the chances of developing a first cardiometabolic disease into cardiometabolic multimorbidity—multiple comorbidities associated with cardiovascular and metabolic health—over 10- to 15-year follow-up periods.

How does the Mediterranean diet affect cardiometabolic health?

As noted in this study, cardiometabolic diseases include conditions such as ironheart attack and type 2 diabetes. The presence of two or more of these conditions is called cardiometabolic multimorbidity.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether following a Mediterranean diet could reduce the risk of early cardiometabolic disease and cardiometabolic multimorbidity.

The researchers used participant data from European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC) – Norfolk cohort study.

The study included 21,900 participants who did not have a heart attack, stroke or type 2 diabetes at baseline. The researchers measured participants’ adherence to the Mediterranean diet using two scales: the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid Score and the Average Mediterranean Diet Score.

The average follow-up was 21.4 years, and the researchers looked at rates of heart attacks, strokes, type 2 diabetes and mortality.

They controlled for covariates such as age, education, family history of heart attack or stroke, use of certain medications, and level of physical activity.

Throughout the study, 5028 participants had one cardiometabolic disorder, and 734 participants had cardiometabolic multimorbidity.

Overall, there were clear benefits from following the Mediterranean diet. Examining both types of Mediterranean dietary indicators, the researchers found that following this eating pattern was associated with a reduced risk of cardiometabolic multimorbidity over 21.4 years of follow-up.

The researchers then focused on how the Mediterranean diet affected the transition from first cardiometabolic disease to cardiometabolic multimorbidity.

At ages 10 and 15 years, a Mediterranean diet was associated with a reduced risk of transition. Further analysis suggested that the observed risk reduction may be particularly associated with a first heart attack or the development of type 2 diabetes.

However, after more than 20 years of follow-up, the researchers found no statistically significant reduction in the risk of this transition associated with the Mediterranean diet.

Who benefits most from the Mediterranean diet?

The researchers also conducted additional analyzes to examine how social class may have affected the risk association.

Non-manual workers seemed to benefit most from following a Mediterranean diet over a mean follow-up period of just over 20 years.

In this group, there was a reduced risk of a first cardiometabolic event and a reduced risk of that first event progressing to cardiometabolic multimorbidity. In contrast, manual workers did not appear to experience such a reduction in transition risk.

Rigved Tadwalkar, MDboard-certified consultant cardiologist and medical director of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Center at Providence St. John’s Medical Center in Santa Monica, California, who was not involved in this study, shared his thoughts on the study results with Medical news today.

According to Tadwalkar, “The study provides compelling evidence that following a Mediterranean diet can significantly reduce the risk of progression from a first cardiometabolic event, such as a heart attack or stroke, to additional cardiometabolic conditions, such as type 2 diabetes.”

Moreover, he noted:

Limitations of the study: Do the results apply to everyone?

It is also important to understand the limitations of this study. For example, the data primarily focused on people of European descent, limiting generalizability.

Participants were also adults aged 40 years and older, so studying younger demographic groups may be useful in future studies.

The researchers did not identify participants who had chronic coronary syndromes at baseline, which could ultimately lead to an overestimation of the effects of the Mediterranean diet. They also did not differentiate between stroke subtypes.

The researchers only measured participants’ Mediterranean adherence at baseline, which could have further biased the results.

Moreover, participants also reported their diet choices and adherence, which may not have been consistent with their actual diet. Other lifestyle-related information was also self-reported. In addition, methods for assessing adherence to the Mediterranean diet did not eliminate the risk of bias.

The researchers also acknowledged several possible reasons why adherence to the Mediterranean diet appeared to have the greatest impact on the transition from first cardiometabolic disease to cardiometabolic multimorbidity at the 10- and 15-year follow-up periods.

First, baseline diet scores may decline over time with accurate reporting of diet quality. Thus, more research may be needed to examine the long-term effects of the Mediterranean diet on this area of ​​health.

They also noted several reasons for the differences between manual and non-manual workers. For example, their study did not look at specific food types, and participants with lower socioeconomic status may have received less varied and less nutritious foods.

The results may also be related to how social class influences other risk factors, such as treatment for cardiometabolic diseases and access to preventive care.

What can you do to protect your cardiometabolic health?

Despite its limitations, the study points to a possible way people can take steps to reduce the risk of cardiometabolic multimorbidity. There are other steps people can take to reduce their risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

Christopher Berg, MDa board-certified cardiologist at the MemorialCare Heart and Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California, who was not involved in this study, explained that “cardiometabolic multimorbidity is defined as having two or more of the following cardiometabolic diseases”: heart attack , stroke or type 2 diabetes.”

“A simple, straightforward way that people can reduce their risk of heart attack, stroke, or type 2 diabetes is well described by the American Heart Association (AHA) Guidelines.”The main thing for life 8‘, he noted.

Berg summarized these recommendations by citing:

1. Following a healthy diet, defined by the AHA as the Mediterranean diet, including recommendations to avoid or minimize highly processed or ultra-processed foods.

2. participating in physical activity, defined as more than 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise, such as brisk walking

3. stopping tobacco use

4. healthy quantity and quality of sleep

5. maintaining a healthy weight

6. control cholesterol levels

7. control blood sugar level

8. control blood pressure.

People can work with their doctors and other specialists to achieve these goals.

Additionally, it may be important to address potential barriers to people adopting the Mediterranean diet so that more people can take advantage of this healthy eating option.

View original article at Medical news today