Mediterranean diet and risk of cardiovascular disease and death in women

Dietary modification is a cornerstone of cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention. A Mediterranean diet has been associated with a lower risk of CVD but no systematic reviews have evaluated this relationship specifically in women.
Researcher explored the association between higher versus lower adherence to a Mediterranean diet and incident CVD and total mortality in women.
A systematic search of Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, and Web of Science (2003–21) was performed. Randomised controlled trials and prospective cohort studies with participants without previous CVD were included. Studies were eligible if they reported a Mediterranean diet score and comprised either all female participants or stratified outcomes by sex. The primary outcome was CVD and/or total mortality. A meta-analysis was conducted to calculate pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and confidence intervals (CIs).
Sixteen prospective cohort studies were included in the meta-analysis (n=7 22 495 female participants). In women, higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with a lower CVD incidence (HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.72 to 0.81), total mortality (HR 0.77, 95% CI 0.74 to 0.80), and coronary heart disease (HR 0.75, 95% CI 0.65 to 0.87; I2=21). Stroke incidence was lower in women with higher Mediterranean diet adherence (HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.76 to 1.01; I2=0), but this result was not statistically significant.
The study results support a beneficial effect of the Mediterranean diet on primary prevention of CVD and death in women, and is an important step in enabling sex specific guidelines.
Source: Pant A, Gribbin S, McIntyre D, et al. Mediterranean diet and risk of cardiovascular disease and death in women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2023 Mar, 81 (8_Supplement) 1723