Adherence to a Mediterranean Diet and Survival in a Greek Population

Dados Bibliográficos

ID23318166
AutoresAntonia Trichopoulou (0000-0002-7204-6396, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Tina Costacou (0000-0001-9303-3810, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Christina Bamia (0000-0002-3646-8006, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Dimitrios Trichopoulos (Harvard University)
Ano2003
Volume348
Fascículo26
Páginas2599-2608
Data de publicação2003-06-26
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoNew England Journal of Medicine (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0028-4793 • E-ISSN: 1533-4406
EditoraMassachusetts Medical Society (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1056/nejmoa025039
PMID12826634
OpenAlexW2152436391
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas220
Referências citadas33

BACKGROUND: Adherence to a Mediterranean diet may improve longevity, but relevant data are limited. METHODS: We conducted a population-based, prospective investigation involving 22,043 adults in Greece who completed an extensive, validated, food-frequency questionnaire at base line. Adherence to the traditional Mediterranean diet was assessed by a 10-point Mediterranean-diet scale that incorporated the salient characteristics of this diet (range of scores, 0 to 9, with higher scores indicating greater adherence). We used proportional-hazards regression to assess the relation between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and total mortality, as well as mortality due to coronary heart disease and mortality due to cancer, with adjustment for age, sex, body-mass index, physical-activity level, and other potential confounders. RESULTS: During a median of 44 months of follow-up, there were 275 deaths. A higher degree of adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with a reduction in total mortality (adjusted hazard ratio for death associated with a two-point increment in the Mediterranean-diet score, 0.75 [95 percent confidence interval, 0.64 to 0.87]). An inverse association with greater adherence to this diet was evident for both death due to coronary heart disease (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.67 [95 percent confidence interval, 0.47 to 0.94]) and death due to cancer (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.76 [95 percent confidence interval, 0.59 to 0.98]). Associations between individual food groups contributing to the Mediterranean-diet score and total mortality were generally not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Greater adherence to the traditional Mediterranean diet is associated with a significant reduction in total mortality.

Body mass index · Confidence interval · Confounding · Environmental health · Hazard ratio · Mediterranean diet · National Death Index · Population · Proportional hazards model · Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact · Demography · Diet and metabolism studies · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Nutritional Studies and Diet