The Mediterranean lifestyle-identified as the combination of Mediterranean diet (rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, little salt and added sugars) with habits of physical activity, adequate rest and socialization-is correlated with lower risks of all-cause mortality, cancer and cardiovascular disease (CDVs).
Such results are reached in a prospective study (Maroto-Rodriguez et al., 2023)-from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (ES) and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (Boston, Mass., USA), published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings-conducted on a cohort of more than 110,000 adults in England, Scotland and Wales followed for nine years. (1)
1) Mediterranean diet, Mediterranean lifestyle and reduction of premature mortality risks. The benefits on populations in other geographic areas
Numerous scientific studies have verified the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet and the lifestyle ideally associated with it (2,3,4). In contrast, a limited amount of research has been conducted on the benefits of this diet for populations in different geographic areas than its region of origin. (5)
‘This study suggests that even non-Mediterranean populations can adopt the Mediterranean diet by using products available in their territories and follow the Mediterranean lifestyle, as a whole, within their own cultural context.’
‘We thus observed the possibility of transferring this lifestyle and its positive effects on health,’ explains Mercedes Sotos Prieto, a researcher at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and adjunct assistant professor of environmental health at the Harvard Chan School.
2) Selection of participants and research methods
The researchers studied the lifestyle habits and health conditions of 110,799 individuals aged 40 to 75 years, selected from the UK Biobank cohort between 2009 and 2012 as free of cardiovascular disease and cancer, following them until 2021. Mediterranean lifestyle was assessed through the Mediterranean Lifestyle Index (MEDLIFE), based on responses to the lifestyle questionnaire and diet assessment, using three parameters:
– ‘consumption of Mediterranean foods’. Intake of foods included in the Mediterranean diet, such as fruits and whole grains,
– ‘Mediterranean eating habits’. Adherence to habits and practices around meals, including limiting salt and consuming healthy beverages, and
– ‘physical activity, rest, social habits and conviviality’. Adherence to lifestyle habits that include regular naps, exercise and time spent with friends.
Each item within the three parameters was then evaluated, giving higher scores in relation to the level of adherence to the Mediterranean lifestyle. Information on deaths was collected from death records. Cox regression models were used to analyze the associations in the study.
3) Search results
Follow-up on the population examined in this study resulted in 4,247 deaths from all causes, 2,401 from cancer and 731 from cardiovascular disease over the following nine years. Analysis of these results, together with MEDLIFE scores, shows an inverse association between adherence to the Mediterranean lifestyle and mortality risk.
Participants with higher MEDLIFE scores were found to have a 29 percent lower risk of all-cause mortality and 28 percent lower risk of cancer mortality than those with lower MEDLIFE scores.
Adherence to each MEDLIFE category was independently associated with lower risk of all-cause and cancer mortality. The category ‘physical activity, rest, social habits and conviviality’ was most strongly associated with a reduction in these risks, as well as a lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality.
Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) Javier Maroto-Rodriguez, Mario Delgado-Velandia, Rosario Ortolá, Stefanos N. Kales, Fernando Rodríguez-Artalejo, Mercedes Sotos-Prieto. (2023).
Association of a Mediterranean Lifestyle With All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality: A Prospective Study from the UK Biobank. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2023.05.031
(2) Dario Dongo. Over-55, preventing cardiovascular disease. The PREDIMED-Plus Study.. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 8.8.22
(3) Dario Dongo. Keeping fit weight with the Mediterranean diet, a clinical study. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 1.1.19
(4) Marta Strinati. Mediterranean diet and the immune system, new scientific evidence. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 1.6.23
(5) Tong, T.Y.N., Wareham, N.J., Khaw, KT. et al.Prospective association of the Mediterranean diet with cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality and its population impact in a non-Mediterranean population: the EPIC-Norfolk study. BMC Med 14, 135 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-016-0677-4. Brief summary on Mediterranean diet Cambridge study.
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
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