Diabetes Care 30:2957-2959, 2007 DOI: 10.2337/dc07-1231 © 2007 by the American Diabetes Association
Mediterranean Diet Inversely Associated With the Incidence of Metabolic SyndromeThe SUN prospective cohort
1 Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain Address correspondence and reprint requests to Miguel A. Martinez-Gonzalez, Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Facultad de Medicina, Irunlarrea 1, 31080 Pamplona, Spain. E-mail: mamartinez@unav.es
Abbreviations: MFP, Mediterranean food pattern Q6, 6-year follow-up questionnaire
There is some evidence of the beneficial role of food patterns and lifestyles on metabolic syndrome (1,2). The Mediterranean food pattern (MFP) has acquired an emerging role in cardiovascular epidemiology (3). It is characterized by a high consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, moderate alcohol intake, a moderate-to-low consumption of dairy products and meats/meat products, and a high monounsaturated–to–saturated fat ratio. Although some cross-sectional studies have suggested that the MFP (or some of its components) may reduce the incidence of the metabolic syndrome (1,4), there are no prospective studies assessing this association. Our aim was to prospectively assess the relationship between adherence to the MFP and the subsequent development of metabolic syndrome in the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN) dynamic cohort, composed of Spanish university graduates followed up for 6 years (5).
The SUN Study uses methodology similar to that of large American cohorts (6), but recruitment is permanently open (it is designed as a dynamic cohort). Baseline assessment of participants consists of a self-administered questionnaire sent by postal mail, gathering information on lifestyle factors and including a 136-item validated food frequency questionnaire (7). Biennially mailed follow-up questionnaires are used to collect a wide variety of information about diet, lifestyle, and medical conditions (5).
Among the
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