Lim CC, et al. – In this study, researchers determined whether adherence to a Mediterranean diet acts as a modifier with respect to the link between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and cardiovascular disease mortality risk. They linked the National Institutes of Health–American Association for Retired Persons Diet and Health Study, which involved 548,845 participants who were followed up from 1995 to 2011, to estimates of yearly average exposures to fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide at the residential census-tract level. Using information from baseline dietary questionnaires, they created the alternative Mediterranean Diet Index for each participant. Furthermore, they assessed mortality risks for cardiovascular disease, ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, or cardiac arrest in potential relation to long-term air pollution exposure. According to findings, cardiovascular disease mortality risk associated with long-term exposure to air pollutants was attenuated by adherence to a Mediterranean diet. The investigators suggested that increased intake of foods high in antioxidant compounds may help to reduce the disease burden associated with ambient air pollution.