The Mediterranean diet reduces diabetes incidence, even in the US population

reference

o’connor Le, HU EA, Steffen LM, Selvin E, Rebholz cm. Compliance with a Mediterranean eating behavior and risk of diabetes in a prospective cohort study in the USA. nutr-diabetes . 2020; 10: 8.

Study goal

The goal of this study was to judge whether a Mediterranean eating behavior would be associated with a risk of diabetes in a large, nationally representative US cohort of black and white men and women.

draft

observation study in which the Alternate Mediterranean Diet (AMED) scores were used to assess the degree of compliance with a Mediterranean diet and at the same time pursue a new diabet diagnosis. The researchers followed the participants over a median of 22 years. They used COX regression models to characterize associations of Amed with incidental diabetes, adapted to energy consumption, age, gender, breed and study center and education for all participants and then stratified according to breed and body mass Index (BMI).

participant

The study included participants from the prospective cohort of the atherosclerosis study risk in communities without diabetes, cardiovascular diseases or cancer at the beginning of the study (n = 11.991; average age 54 years, 56 % female and 75 % white). The participants were selected from 4 US communities.

study parameters evaluated

Compliance with the Mediterranean diet, evaluated based on the validated AMED scores and incidence of diabetes.

primary result measurements

Over an average follow -up time of 22 years there were 4,024 cases of diabetes.

important knowledge

higher amed scores were associated with a lower risk of diabetes (0.83 [0.73–0.94] for Q5 vs. Q1 [ p <0.001] and 0.96 [0.95–0.98] for 1 point higher). Associations were stronger for black vs. White participants (0.74 vs. 0.87 for Q5 vs. Q1 and 0.95 vs. 0.97 for 1 point higher; interaction p <0.001); and weaker for obese vs. normal BMI (0.88 vs. 0.80 for Q5 vs. Q1 and 0.98 vs. 0.94 for 1 point higher; interaction p <0.01).

practice implications

The Mediterranean diet (med diet) is rich in fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, fish and native olive oil extra (EVOO). It has proven to be an effective nutritional pattern to reduce many chronic diseases, including diabetes mellitus (DM), 1 Koronar heart disease, 2 neurodegenerative diseases, ^{3 . have used Mediterranean populations, which raised the question of whether this nutritional pattern would have the same advantageous results in a US population. Genetics and lifestyle are known factors that influence the clinical results. The Mediterranean lifestyle tends to focus more on family and social networks, physical activity, protected sleep patterns and other pleasant activities such as meals together, evening walks and regular holidays. The effects of the Mediterranean lifestyle still have to be examined sufficiently, which makes it difficult to predict its contribution to the results of the med diet study.}

The Med Diet can be of particular importance for the black community, since the researchers of the study found an additional benefit of the med diet in this population group.

This well-designed, large observation study is based on 4 US populations (Washington County, Maryland; suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Jackson, Mississippi; and Forsyth County, North Carolina) and aims to clarify the effects of the med diet on DM especially in. A significant decrease in DM incidence was found in those with the highest compliance with the MED diet (17 % decline) compared to the lowest compliance. There was also a 4 % decline in DM incidence with every 1-point increase in compliance with the med diet, which indicates that the better compliance, the greater the benefit. A higher consumption of nuts and legumes, moderate alcohol consumption and less consumption of red and processed meat had the strongest associations with the determined advantages. While earlier studies have also shown the benefits of the MED diet, especially in the US population, ^{5.6 The larger sample size of this study and the inclusion of 4 different US population groups and both men as well as women as well as black and white population groups give us a clearer reference to the benefits of the med diet.}

The med diet can be of particular importance for the black community, since the researchers found the study to use an additional benefit of the med diet in this population group. This sub-group of the study showed a decrease in DM incidence by 26 % (compared to 17 % in all groups) in those with the highest compliance with the lowest compliance with the med diet and a decrease in DM incidence by 5 % (compared to 4 % in all groups) with every 1 point in compliance with the med diet. In view of the particularly high DM risk in the black population, ^{7 This information is particularly relevant because we are looking for instruments to prevent DM.}

The examined obese population showed a lower benefit from compliance with the med diet. While the researchers found a certain benefit (12 % acceptance of the obesity of the obesity vs. 17 % for all groups for the highest vs. lowest adherence; 2 % acceptance vs. 4 % for all groups for every 1-point increase), no statistical significance was achieved. The achievement and maintenance of the optimal weight is a fundamental goal in the prevention and treatment of DM. While studies show that the med diet is an effective means of weight loss, 8 A personalized approach to achieving the ideal weight (which can contain the med diet) would be appropriate before the med diet is introduced in order to increase the DM incidacy in the fatty population reduce.