Mediterranean diet and a health behaviour index in relation to cardiovascular biomarkers

Although lifestyle factors have been repeatedly examined for their role on cardiovascular diseases, their composite effect has not been frequently explored. Academics from the University of Athens investigated the relation of dietary patterns (DPs) and a health behaviour index (HBI) with cardiovascular biomarkers.
A cross-sectional analysis with data from 3,461 US residents, participants in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), was performed. Nutritional data were obtained with a food frequency questionnaire, while adherence to Mediterranean Diet (MD) was determined by the Mediterranean Diet Score. A posteriori dietary patterns were estimated using principal component analysis and the health behaviour index was constructed combining adherence to MD, smoking status, physical activity levels, alcohol consumption and body mass index. The relation between dietary patterns or health behaviour index and levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C), cystatin C (Cys C), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein (HDL) and TC:HDL in blood were examined.
The study found that “healthy” dietary patterns and the MD had a significant negative association with CRP and Cys C, while the “Western-type” dietary patterns had a significant positive association with TC:HDL ratio, CRP and Cys C. Moreover, the health behaviour index was positively associated with HDL and negatively associated with TC:HDL ratio, CRP and Cys C.
Adherence to MD and to a healthy dietary pattern was negatively associated with biomarkers of inflammation, while the health behaviour index was associated with a better cardiometabolic profile, assessed with blood biomarkers.
Source: Papassotiriou I, Riza E, Benetou V, Orfanos P. Mediterranean diet and a health behavior index in relation to cardiovascular biomarkers: Data from the Health and Retirement Study. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2024 Apr;34(4):925-934.