The Mediterranean diet is associated with better cardiometabolic health for women in mid-life but not men: A PREVENT dementia cohort cross-sectional analysis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) has been associated with better cardiovascular health in a number of studies. This study aimed to explore cross-sectional associations between MedDiet adherence in the PREVENT Dementia (PREVENT) programme, stratified by sex. METHODS AND RESULTS: Three MedDiet scores were calculated (MEDAS, MEDAS continuous and Pyramid) alongside a Western diet score. We used linear regression and linear mixed effects models to test for associations between the MEDAS score and cardiovascular health. Propensity scores were calculated to strengthen causality inferences from the data, and used as covariates along with total energy intake and Western diet scores. Exploratory analysis repeated the linear regression models for each individual food component. This study included 533 participants, with a mean age 51.25 (±5.40) years, and a majority of women (60.0%). Women had higher MedDiet scores across all three scoring methods, had a lower Western diet score and consumed fewer total calories. Higher MedDiet scores were associated with lower blood pressure, body mass index (BMI) and lower cardiovascular risk scores. When stratified by sex, women had significant positive associations between MedDiet scores and lower blood pressure, BMI and glycemia, whereas men only had a significant association with lower BMI. CONCLUSION: There were significant associations between higher MedDiet scores and a number of cardiovascular health outcome measures. These associations were seen more consistently for women compared to men, which may have implications for the development of personalised nutritional recommendations to improve cardiovascular health.