Mateo–Gallego R, et al. – This study assessed the link between Mediterranean diet (MeDi) adherence and the presence and extent of atherosclerotic plaques in carotid, femoral, and aorta territories and its association with risk factors in asymptomatic middle–aged adults. Independent of other risk factors, a dose–dependent protective association of MeDi adherence with the presence, number and thickness of atherosclerotic plaques, was evident. This link was strongest for femoral arteries and among smokers.

Methods

• A cross-sectional analysis was performed, of the Aragon Workers' Health Study (AWHS), a cohort of 2588 subjects (94.9% men aged 51.3±3.89 years) without previous cardiovascular history.
• For the quantification of number and thickness of plaques and intima-media thickness (IMT), participants underwent carotid, femoral, and aorta ultrasound.
• Researchers computed the Alternative MEDiterranean index (aMED) to estimate the participant’s adherence to MeDi.

Results

• Findings showed that the overall aMED score was 4.19±1.70, representing a moderate adherence to MeDi.
• Researchers observed that aMED score was associated with the presence of plaque in femoral arteries (OR highest vs. lowest aMED score quartile: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.48-0.83; P-trend=0.045) independently of risk factors and mediators.
• They also noted that the strongest association between aMED quartiles and presence of plaque was found among smokers, both in femoral (0.39 (0.22-0.69);P-trend=0.001) and in any territory (0.33 (0.14-0.79), P-trend=0.008).
• In addition, data highlighted an inverse association of aMED with the number of plaques in all territories except for carotids.