Adherence to the Mediterranean diet is linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. And if more people made a modest increase in their adherence to this diet, it could meaningfully reduce the population burden of the disease, the results of a new study suggest.
The Mediterranean diet, which favors whole grains, olive oil, fruits, vegetables and beans among other foods, is well-known for its association with positive health outcomes. But past findings that it also lowers the risk for type 2 diabetes have been questionable without the availability of an objective measure of adherence to the Mediterranean diet, according to the investigators.
Researchers sought to correct this issue by deriving a biomarker score for the diet based on circulating carotenoids and fatty acids found in the blood. This biomarker score was applied to certain participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-InterAct case-cohort study. Among more than 22,000 selected participants, over 9,400 had type 2 diabetes.
The researchers assessed links between participants’ biomarker scores and type 2 diabetes incidence over an average of 9.7 years of follow-up. They also examined dietary-self reports. Results showed that adherence to the diet was associated with lower risk of new onset type 2 diabetes. A stronger link between diabetes and the diet was found using the blood biomarkers, versus the self-reports.
The study did not attribute cause and there is a potential for measurement error with the nutritional biomarkers. Even so, the findings reveal that adherence to the Mediterranean diet may be more beneficial for the primary prevention of type 2 diabetes than has been previously estimated, the researchers concluded.
Full findings were published in PLOS Medicine.
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