Adherence to the mediterranean diet in relation to ischemic stroke events: A case-control study

Objective: The relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern and stroke development has been rarely examined. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and ischemic stroke presence.

Material-Methods: During 2010–2011, 250 consecutive patients with a first ischemic stroke (77±9 yrs, 55.6% males) and 500 healthy controls (62±13 yrs, 62.2% males) were enrolled in the study. Through the use of a validated questionnaire, the following information was recorded: socio-demographic characteristics, anthropometric characteristics, medical history, physical activity, smoking habits and psychological status. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was assessed using the dietary index MedDietScore (theoretical range 0–55, increasing scores suggest higher adherence).

Results: Patients (MedDietScore: 32.23±4.40) had lower adherence to the Mediterranean diet than the controls (MedDietScore: 29.99±3.79) (P<0.001). After adjusting for various confounding factors, results of the logistic regression indicated that 1 unit (out of 55) increase of the MedDietScore was associated with 9% lower likelihood of ischemic stroke (OR=0.91, 95% CI=0.83–0.99). Conclusion: Adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern appears to protect against ischemic stroke presence, expanding the existing knowledge regarding the cardioprotective role of this pattern.