Adherence to an Energy-restricted Mediterranean Diet Score and Prevalence of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in the PREDIMED-Plus: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction and objectives: The cardiovascular benefits of the Mediterranean diet have usually been assessed under assumptions of ad libitum total energy intake (ie, no energy restriction). In the recently launched PREDIMED-Plus, we conducted exploratory analyses to study the baseline associations between adherence to an energy-restricted Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) and the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF).Methods: Cross-sectional assessment of all PREDIMED-Plus participants (6874 older adults with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome) at baseline. The participants were assessed by their usual primary care physicians to ascertain the prevalence of 4 CVRF (hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and dyslipidemia). A 17-point PREDIMED-Plus score was used to measure adherence to the MedDiet. Multivariable models were fitted to estimate differences in means and prevalence ratios for individual and clustered CVRF.Results: Better adherence to a MedDiet pattern was significantly associated with lower average triglyceride levels, body mass index, and waist circumference. Compared with low adherence (<= 7 points in the 17-point score), better adherence to the MedDiet (11-17 points) showed inverse associations with hypertension (prevalence ratio = 0.97; 95%CI, 0.94-1.00) and obesity (prevalence ratio = 0.96; 95%CI, 0.92-1.00), but positive associations with diabetes (prevalence ratio = 1.19; 95%CI, 1.07-1.32). Compared with the lowest third of adherence, women in the upper third showed a significantly lower prevalence of the clustering of 3 or more CVRF (prevalence ratio = 0.91; 95%CI, 0.83-0.98).Conclusions: Among participants at high cardiovascular risk, better adherence to a MedDiet showed significant inverse associations with CVRF among women, and improved lipid profiles and adiposity measures.