The association between the level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet and successful aging

A study evaluated the association between the level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet (which includes moderate alcohol consumption), and successful aging, taking into consideration the overall dietary pattern, rather than individual foods, among middle-aged and older individuals.
A harmonised dataset of middle-aged and older participants (>50 years old) from the ATTICA (n = 1,128) and MEDIS (n = 2,221) population-based cross-sectional studies was used. Socio-demographic, anthropometric, clinical and lifestyle characteristics were measured in both studies and harmonised using standardised procedures. Level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet was evaluated using the MedDietScore (range 0–55, “Low” adherence <34, “High”>38). Successful aging was evaluated using the validated successful aging index (SAI, range 0−10) comprising of health-related, social, lifestyle and clinical characteristics. The results showed that adherence to the Mediterranean diet was positively associated with a higher successful ageing index (b ± SE “High” vs. “Low”: 1.094 ± 0.130, and “Moderate” vs “Low”: 0.476 ± 0.156).
Mediterranean diet or dietary patterns that are close to this pattern, should be actively promoted and encouraged to middle aged and older people to achieve successful aging, the researchers argue.
Source: Alexandra Foscolou, Nathan M. D’Cunha, Nenad Naumovski, Stefanos Tyrovolas, Christina Chrysohoou, Loukianos Rallidis, Evangelos Polychronopoulos, Antonia-Leda Matalas, Labros S. Sidossis, Demosthenes Panagiotakos, The association between the level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet and successful aging: An analysis of the ATTICA and MEDIS (MEDiterranean Islands Study) epidemiological studies, Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics,Volume 89, 2020, 104044.