Sticking to the Mediterranean diet may cut the risk of cardiovascular disease and death for women, according to a major new analysis published today.
Evidence was collected from 16 prospective studies including 722,495 women and published in Heart today.
In the studies, a Mediterranean diet was generally described as being rich in vegetables, fruit, beans, nuts, extra virgin olive oil and fish, but low in red or processed meats, dairy products, animal fat, and processed foods.
Higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet was linked to a 24% lower cardiovascular disease rate and a 23% lower overall mortality risk, say Dr Sarah Zaman of the University of Sydney, Australia, and colleagues.
The reduction in coronary heart disease risk was 25%, and stroke risk was reduced but not significantly.
“Dietary modification is a cornerstone of cardiovascular disease prevention,” the authors write. “A Mediterranean diet has been associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease but no systematic reviews have evaluated this relationship specifically in women.”
Their results “further support a strong inverse relationship for incident cardiovascular disease and total mortality with higher Mediterranean diet adherence,” they state.
However the analysis is limited by the observational and self-reported nature of diet information, and variation in how the studies took account of other risk factors.
The authors also point out that individual components of the diet may have greater or lesser effects, but they conclude: “This study is an important step in enabling sex specific guidelines.”
Pant, A. et al. Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in women with a Mediterranean diet: systematic review and meta-analysis. Heart 14 March 2023 doi: 10.1136/heartjnl-2022-321930
Leave a Reply