JAMA 2014 Jan 22;311(11)415-417, M Ruiz-Canela, R Estruch, D Corella, J Salas-Salvadó, MA Martínez-González
Research · January 30, 2014
TAKE-HOME MESSAGE
- This multicenter study from Spain previously reported a reduction in MI and stroke with a Mediterranean diet, which includes extra-virgin olive oil and nuts. The authors now report results of a randomized analysis showing reduced risk of peripheral artery disease (PAD) in 7477 adults, median age 67 years, who ate a Mediterranean diet vs those who underwent counseling and ate a low-fat diet. These findings are consistent with others from observational studies.
- “This study shows a tremendous reduction (by half to two-thirds) in the incidence of symptomatic PAD with the Mediterranean diet. It does not give details on which of the adjunctive criteria drove the difference (ABI < 0.9 or intervention), but, still, this is important new data for PAD, which has not been obtained before in a RCT.”
– Joerg Herrmann, MD
ABSTRACT
The role of nutrition in preventing peripheral artery disease (PAD) remains elusive.
Mediterranean diets reduce the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke. They also may reduce the risk of PAD, but this hypothesis has never been tested in a randomized trial. We assessed the association of Mediterranean diets with the occurrence of symptomatic PAD in an exploratory, nonprespecified analysis of a randomized trial.