Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Dr Oliver ShannonORCiD, Ines Mendes, Ammar Ashor, Dr Sofia Rubele, Professor John MathersORCiD, Dr Mario Siervo
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).
Background: The endothelium plays a key role in the maintenance of vascular health, and represents a potential physiological target for dietary and other lifestyle interventions designed to reduce risk for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) including stroke or coronary heart disease. Objective: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials investigating effects of the Mediterranean dietary pattern (MedDiet) on endothelial function. Methods: Medline, Embase and Scopus databases were searched from inception until January 2019 for studies that met the following criteria: 1) RCTs including adult participants, 2) interventions promoting a Mediterranean dietary pattern, 3) inclusion of a control group and 4) measurements of endothelial function. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted. Meta-regression and sub-group analyses were performed to identify whether effects were modified by health status (i.e., healthy participants vs participants with existing comorbidities), type of intervention (i.e., MedDiet alone or with a co-intervention), study duration, study design (i.e., parallel or crossover), body mass index (BMI), and age of participants. Results: Fourteen articles reporting data for 1930 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Study duration ranged from 4 weeks to 2.3 years. We observed a beneficial effect of the MedDiet on endothelial function (standardised mean difference (SMD): 0.35 95% CI: 0.17, 0.53, P<0.001, I2 = 73.68%). MedDiet interventions improved flow mediated dilation (FMD) - the reference method for non-invasive, clinical measurement of endothelial function - by 1.66% (absolute change; 95% CI: 1.15, 2.17, P<0.001, I2 = 0%). Effects of the MedDiet on endothelial function were not modified by health status, type of intervention, study duration, study design, BMI, and age of participants (P>0.05). Conclusions: MedDiet interventions improve endothelial function in adults, which suggest that the protective effects of the MedDiet are evident at early stages of the atherosclerotic process with important implications for the early prevention of CVD.
Author(s): Shannon OM, Mendes I, Köchl C, Mazidi M, Ashor AW, Rubele S, Minihane AM, Mathers JC, Siervo M
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: The Journal of Nutrition
Year: 2020
Volume: 150
Issue: 5
Pages: 1151–1159
Print publication date: 01/05/2020
Online publication date: 06/02/2020
Acceptance date: 03/04/2020
Date deposited: 02/01/2020
ISSN (print): 0022-3166
ISSN (electronic): 1541-6100
Publisher: Oxford University Press
URL: https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxaa002
DOI: 10.1093/jn/nxaa002
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric
