Am J Epidemiol. 2012 Dec 15;176(12):1185-92.
Relation of the traditional Mediterranean diet to cerebrovascular disease in a Mediterranean population.
Misirli G, Benetou V, Lagiou P, Bamia C, Trichopoulos D, Trichopoulou A.
Source
Hellenic Health Foundation, Tetrapoleos 10-12, 11527 Athens, Greece.
m.misirli@nut.uoa.gr
Abstract
The authors aimed to evaluate the association of the traditional Mediterranean
diet and major food groups with incidence of and mortality from cerebrovascular
disease (CBVD) in a Mediterranean population. The study population was a cohort
of 23,601 participants from the Greek segment of the EPIC Study (European
Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) who were free of
cardiovascular diseases and cancer at baseline (1994-1999). Diet was assessed by
means of a validated food frequency questionnaire. A 10-point scale integrating
key Mediterranean diet characteristics was used to assess the participants'
degree of adherence to this diet. During a median follow-up period of 10.6 years
(1994-2009), 395 confirmed incident cases and 196 deaths from CBVD were recorded.
Using Cox proportional hazards regression and adjusting for potential
confounders, increased adherence to the Mediterranean diet, as measured by
2-point increments in score, was inversely associated with CBVD incidence (adjusted
hazard ratio = 0.85, 95% confidence interval: 0.74, 0.96) and mortality (adjusted
hazard ratio = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.73, 1.06). These inverse trends were mostly
evident among women and with respect to ischemic rather than hemorrhagic CBVD
and were largely driven by consumption of vegetables, legumes, and olive oil.
These data provide support for an inverse association of adherence to the
Mediterranean diet with CBVD incidence and mortality.
PMID: 23186748 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]