| Summary: | The Mediterranean diet is receiving increasing attention in cardiovascular epidemiology. The association of
adherence to the Mediterranean diet with the incidence of hypertension was evaluated among 9,408 men and
women enrolled in a dynamic Spanish prospective cohort study during 1999–2005. Dietary intake was assessed at
baseline with a validated semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire, and a 9-point Mediterranean diet score
was constructed. During a median follow-up period of 4.2 years (range, 1.9–7.9), 501 incident cases of hypertension
were identified. After adjustment for major hypertension risk factors and nutritional covariates, adherence to
the Mediterranean diet was not associated with hypertension (the hazard ratio was 1.10 (95% confidence interval
(CI): 0.81, 1.41) for moderate adherence and 1.12 (95% CI: 0.79, 1.60) for high adherence). However, it was
associated with reduced changes in mean levels of systolic blood pressure (moderate adherence, 2.4 mm Hg
(95% CI: 4.0, 0.8); high adherence, 3.1 mm Hg (95% CI: 5.4, 0.8)) and diastolic blood pressure (moderate
adherence, 1.3 mm Hg (95% CI: 2.5, 0.1); high adherence, 1.9 mm Hg (95% CI: 3.6, 0.1)) after 6 years of
follow-up. These results suggest that adhering to a Mediterranean-type diet could contribute to the prevention of
age-related changes in blood pressure.
|
|---|