The February issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, carries a report this month on the Mediterranean diet. It appears that a Mediterranean-style diet reduces the burden of white matter hyperintesity volume. White matter hyperintesity volume is a marker of small vessel damage in the brain.
White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) visible on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are markers of chronic small vessel damage, according to background information in the article.
Hannah Gardener, Sc.D., of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and colleagues evaluated data from 966 participants. They examined the association between a Mediterranean diet and WMH Visibles. Participants were given a food frequency questionnaire to establish dietary patterns during the previous year, and answers were used to determine scores that evaluated how close their diet was to the genuine Mediterranean one. The WMHV was measured by quantitative brain MRI. The authors write:
“Although diet may be an important predictor of vascular disease, little is known about the possible association between dietary habits and WMHs. Studies have suggested that consumption of a MeDi [Mediterranean Diet] is associated with a reduced risk of the metabolic syndrome, coronary heart disease, stroke and cognitive disorders, but no studies to date, to our knowledge, have examined the association between a MeDi and WMH volume (WMHV).”
The survey had 11.6 percent of participants scoring 0 to 2 on the MeDi scale, 15.8 percent scored 3, 23 percent scored 4, 23.5 percent scored 5, and 26.1 percent scored 6 to 9. Women had lower MeDi scores than men, and participants who reported moderate to heavy levels of physical activity were more likely to report greater consumption of a MeDi. Participants with MeDi scores of 6 or higher also had lower BMI.
Their findings indicate that a lower burden of WMHV in those people with a greater consumption of a MeDi. The association was independent of sociodemographic and vascular risk factors including physical activity, smoking, blood lipid levels, hypertension, diabetes, history of cardiac disease and BMI. Additionally, after adjustment, the only component of the MeDi score that was independently associated with WMHV was the ratio of monounsaturated to saturated fat. The authors conclude :
“In summary, the current study suggests a possible protective association between increased consumption of a MeDi and small vessel damage … The associations with WMHV may be driven by the favorable ratio of monounsaturated fat consumption over saturated fat. However, the results of the analysis of the individual MeDi scale components suggests that the overall dietary pattern, rather than any of the individual components, may be more etiologically relevant in relation to WMHV.”
Written by Rupert Shepherd