Close adherence to a Mediterranean diet is linked to a significantly lower risk of stroke in women, reported a recent study published in Neurology Open Access.
"Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability, so it's exciting to think that improving our diets could lessen our risk for this devastating disease," said study author Sophia S. Wang, PhD, of City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, California, in a press release.
"Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and to help us understand the mechanisms behind them so we could identify new ways to prevent stroke,” she added.
For the study, Wang and colleagues analyzed data from close to 106,000 women with an average age of 53 years old from the California Teachers Study, which comprises healthcare data from women educators and administrators. Data included a detailed dietary questionnaire taken at the start of the study alongside health outcomes over an average follow-up of 21 years. During this time, there were 4,083 stroke events, of which 3, 358 were ischemic and 725: hemorrhagic.
Ultimately, the researchers found that women with the strongest adherence to the Mediterranean diet were 18% less likely to experience stroke than those with the lowest adherence. Broken down, they were 16% less likely to experience ischemic stroke and 25% less likely to experience hemorrhagic stroke.
Limitations to the study include that dietary information was self-reported and that other, unknown factors may have explained the results, such as those following the Mediterranean diet potentially having a healthier lifestyle in general.
Understanding the biological mechanisms underpinning the findings could ‘contribute to identifying targets for stroke prevention efforts’, wrote the researchers in their study. They added that future research could also explore synergies between the Mediterranean diet and other health behaviors like physical activity and stress management.
Sources: Neurology Open Access, Science Daily
