Mean Mediterranean Diet Score Research Articles

Effect of the Mediterranean diet in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria.

Patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria often want to be informed about dietary modifications. There have been many studies evaluating dietary approaches in chronic spontaneous urticaria. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and chronic spontaneous urticaria. In this cross-sectional case-control observational study, 100 patients (70 males and 30 females, mean age: 38.6±13.0 years) with chronic spontaneous urticaria and age- and sex-matched 100 healthy controls 70 males and 30 females, mean age: 38.7±13.8 years) were enrolled. A validated 14-item questionnaire evaluating the Mediterranean diet score was used for the assessment of adherence to the Mediterranean diet. The severity and the control of chronic spontaneous urticaria were assessed by Urticaria Activity Score over 7 days and Urticaria Control Test, respectively. The mean Mediterranean diet score in the patient group was 5.40±1.88, whereas in healthy controls it was 6.30±1.39 (p<0.001). The Urticaria Activity Score over 7 days score of the patients was negatively correlated with the Mediterranean diet score, whereas the Urticaria Control Test score was positively correlated. We reported that adherence to the Mediterranean diet may be an independent factor that decreases the risk of chronic spontaneous urticaria. It may also reduce the severity of chronic spontaneous urticaria symptoms.

Eating Patterns and Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet: A Cross-Sectional Study in Albania

Objective: To evaluate the level of adherence to the Mediterraneandiet pattern overall and to specific dietary components, among Albanianadults. Design and Setting: This is a cross-sectional study carried out duringJune - July 2019 in Vlora and Fieri cities, Albania. The study populationconsisted of 209 adults, randomly selected. Participation rate was 73%.Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was assessed via an online questionnairebased on the previously validated and translated 14 item questionnairePREDIMED (Prevención com Dieta Mediterránea). Results: Most of theparticipants enrolled in the study were women (63%) and between 18-35 yearsof age (76.1%) . The majority of the participants had moderate adherence toMediterranean diet (57.4%) and only 14.4% of them had high adherence.Higher adherence was reported for the use of olive oil as the primary culinaryfat (72.7%), whereas lowest adherence was achieved for wine consumption(12.4%). Mean Mediterranean diet score did not differ significatly betweenwomen and men. Conclusions: There is a worldwide trend to adopt unhealthyeating behaviour and the results of this study indicate that eating patterns andlifestyle habits in the population have to be improved. We recommend thatthere is a strong need for effective strategies to promote healthy behaviour andto implement Mediterranean diet by more individuals.

Adherence to Mediterranean Diet and Prevention of Excessive Weight Gain during Pregnancy: Study in a Cohort of Normal Weight Caucasian Women

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;This study investigated the association between &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;adherence to Mediterranean Diet (MD) and the risk of excessive Gestational Weight Gain (GWG).&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Ninety five &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;Caucasian normal weight pregnant women were recruited within the 16thgestational week. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;We evaluated the adherence to MD at recruitment (T0) and at third trimester (T1) by validated food frequency questionnaire. Adherence to MD was indicated by a score between 0 and 13. Adequate GWG was defined in according with IOM (Institute of Medicine, 2009) recommendations.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The 26.3% dropped out, then the completer participants were&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt; 70 (33.2±3.5 ys, 74.3% nulliparous).&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;MD score at T0 was 7.2±1.5 and it did not significantly change at T1. Mean MD score between T0 and T1 was 7.3±1.3: a good adherence to MD, defined by MD score≥8, was satisfied by 27.1%. The GWG at T1 was adequate in 64.3%, while exceed in 35.7%. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;Women with adequate GWG showed a MD score significantly higher than women with excessive GWG (MD score: 7.5±1.3 vs 6.8±1.0, p=0.02). &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;A good adherence to MD&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;was associated with a significantly lower risk ratio of excessive GWG (RR 0.24, 95% CI 0.1-0.9, p=0.04).&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;MD could be a dietary pattern able to prevent excessive GWG in normal weight women.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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Objective: Mediterranean Diet that is characterized by a high intake of fruit and nuts, vegetables, legumes, cereals, fish and seafood; a low intake of dairy products, meat and meat products; and a moderate ethanol intake mainly in the form of wine and during meals, has become the standard for healthy eating. We conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the association between Mediterranean Diet adherence evaluated by means the calculation of Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS), stroke subtype and severity indexes and outcome of ischemic stroke. Design and method: The primary outcome in this study was differences in mean Mediterranean diet score between patients with acute ischemic stroke and subjects without acute ischemic stroke; Secondary outcomes were evaluation of a relationship between TOAST subtypes of ischemic stroke and mean Mediterranean Diet Score and between severity indexes of acute ischemic stroke and mean Mediterranean diet score. The type of acute ischemic stroke was classified according to the TOAST classification. We administered to all patients admitted with acute ischemic stroke or to their relatives a a 137-item validated food-frequency questionnaire (17) adapted to Sicilian population. A scale indicating the degree of adherence to the traditional Mediterranean diet was constructed by Trichopoulou et al Results: We enrolled 198 subjects with acute ischemic stroke and 100 control subjects without acute ischemic stroke. Among stroke patients we observed a significant correlation between MED diet score and female sex (R: 0.165; p = 0.023), atrial fibrillation (R: 0.152; p = 0.037), and SSS score (R: 0.306; P < 0.0005) whereas we observed a negative relationship between med diet score and CAD (R: -0.146; p = 0.045), NIHSS (R: -0.296; p < 0.0005) and Rankin scores (R:-0.229; p < 0.0005). Among stroke patients, lacunar subtype showed a higher mean Mediterranean diet (5.41 ± 1.51) score compared to LAAS subtype (3.59 ± 1.41) but not compared to cardioembolic (5.98 ± 1.83). Conclusions: We reported that patients with lower adherence to a Mediterranean Diet profile are more likely to have an atherosclerotic (LAAS) subtype of stroke, a worse clinical presentation of ischemic stroke with a higher mean NIHSS and a dependency with higher rankin score at admission.

An exploratory study of dietary intake patterns among adults diagnosed with cardiovascular risk factors

The objective of the present exploratory study was to assess compliance with the nutrient recommendations among a convenience sample of adults diagnosed with cardiovascular risk factors in northern Greece and evaluate their dietary intake patterns. Ninety-two people participated in this cross-sectional study. Dietary assessment was carried out using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Principal components analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were adopted to obtain dietary patterns and classify individuals with similar dietary behaviour. HCA, performed on the factorial scores obtained from PCA, revealed a 4-group interpretable and statistically significant clustering of participants. For all clusters, the mean daily intake for saturated fatty acids was more than 10% of total calories, while the mean sodium intake was above 1500 mg; additionally, a relatively low mean Mediterranean diet score was recorded. Dietary interventions should be considered to raise awareness and expand knowledge on the nutritional and functional benefits of heart-healthy foods.

Mediterranean Diet Effect: an Italian picture

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the overall diet quality effects, mainly on antioxidant nutritional status and some cytokines related to the cellular immune response as well as oxidative stress in a healthy Italian population group.MethodsAn observational study was conducted on 131 healthy free-living subjects. Dietary intake was assessed by dietary diary. Standardised procedures were used to make anthropometric measurements. On blood samples (serum, plasma and whole blood) were evaluated: antioxidant status by vitamin A, vitamin E, carotenoids, vitamin C, uric acid, SH groups, SOD and GPx activities; lipid blood profile by total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides; total antioxidant capacity by FRAP and TRAP; the immune status by TNF-α, and IL-10 cytokines; the levels of malondialdehyde in the erythrocytes as marker of lipid peroxidation.ResultsThe daily macronutrients intake (g/day) have shown a high lipids consumption and significant differences between the sexes with regard to daily micronutrients intake. On total sample mean Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) was 4.5 ± 1.6 and no significant differences between the sexes were present. A greater adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern increases the circulating plasma levels of carotenoids (lutein plus zeaxanthin, cryptoxanthin, α and β-carotene), vitamin A and vitamin E. The levels of endogenous antioxidants were also improved. We observed higher levels in anti-inflammatory effect cytokines (IL-10) in subjects with MDS ≥ 6, by contrast, subjects with MDS ≤ 3 show higher levels in sense of proinflammatory (TNF α P < 0.05). Lower levels of MDA were associated with MDS > 4. Our data suggest a protective role of vitamin A against chronic inflammatory conditions especially in subjects with the highest adherence to the Mediterranean-type dietary pattern.ConclusionsMediterranean dietary pattern is associated with significant amelioration of multiple risk factors, including a better cardiovascular risk profile, reduced oxidative stress and modulation of inflammation.