Long-Term Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet Reduces 20-Year Diabetes Incidence: The ATTICA Cohort Study (2002–2022)
Ioanna Kechagia,
Thomas Tsiampalis,
Evangelia Damigou,
Fotios Barkas,
Georgia Anastasiou,
Evrydiki Kravvariti,
Evangelos Liberopoulos,
Petros P. Sfikakis,
Christina Chrysohoou,
Costas Tsioufis,
Christos Pitsavos,
Demosthenes Panagiotakos
Affiliations
Ioanna Kechagia
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Health Sciences & Education, Harokopio University, 17676 Athens, Greece
Thomas Tsiampalis
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Health Sciences & Education, Harokopio University, 17676 Athens, Greece
Evangelia Damigou
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Health Sciences & Education, Harokopio University, 17676 Athens, Greece
Fotios Barkas
Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School, University of Ioannina, 45500 Ioannina, Greece
Georgia Anastasiou
First Department of Propaedeutic Internal Medicine, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Laiko General Hospital, 15772 Athens, Greece
Evrydiki Kravvariti
First Department of Propaedeutic Internal Medicine, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Laiko General Hospital, 15772 Athens, Greece
Evangelos Liberopoulos
First Department of Propaedeutic Internal Medicine, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Laiko General Hospital, 15772 Athens, Greece
Petros P. Sfikakis
First Department of Propaedeutic Internal Medicine, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Laiko General Hospital, 15772 Athens, Greece
Christina Chrysohoou
First Cardiology Clinic, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Hippokration Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece
Costas Tsioufis
First Cardiology Clinic, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Hippokration Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece
Christos Pitsavos
First Cardiology Clinic, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Hippokration Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece
Demosthenes Panagiotakos
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Health Sciences & Education, Harokopio University, 17676 Athens, Greece
This study aimed to evaluate the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and the 20-year incidence of type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) among adults from the ATTICA study. This study involved a prospective cohort of 3042 men and women recruited at baseline from the Attica region in Greece. Sociodemographic, anthropometric, lifestyle, and clinical characteristics were evaluated at baseline and follow-up examinations; adherence to the Mediterranean diet was assessed through the MedDietScore (range 0–55); four Mediterranean diet trajectories were identified (i.e., increasing, decreasing, and sustained high and sustained low adherence levels). For the present analysis, data from 2000 individuals with complete information were used (age 43 ± 13 years; 49% men). Over the 20-year period, 26.3% (95%CI 24.4%, 28.3%) of participants developed T2DM; men exhibited a 1.5-times higher incidence compared to women (p p-values < 0.001) and showed a 21% reduction in their 20-year risk of developing T2DM compared to those who were consistently away (RR = 0.79, 95%CI 0.47, 0.86). A long-term adherence to the Mediterranean diet is protective against the onset of T2DM and, therefore, could be incorporated in public health actions for the prevention of the disease.
