Adherence to the Mediterranean diet in Cyprus and its relationship to multi-morbidity: An epidemiological study

Maria Kyprianidou, Demosthenes Panagiotakos, Antigoni Faka, Maria Kambanaros, Konstantinos C. Makris, Costas A. Christophi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective: To examine the adherence to the Mediterranean diet in the adult general population of Cyprus and assess its relationship with multi-morbidity. Design: A representative sample of the adult population of Cyprus was selected in 2018-2019 using stratified sampling. Demographics, Mediterranean diet, smoking and physical activity, as well as the presence of chronic, clinical and mental conditions, were collected using a validated questionnaire. Diseases were classified according to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision. Setting: The five government-controlled municipalities of the Republic of Cyprus. Participants: A total of 1140 Cypriot men and women over 18 years. Results: The average Mediterranean diet score was 15·5 ± 4·0 with males and residents of rural regions being more adherent to the Mediterranean diet compared with females and residents of urban regions (P < 0·05). Being in the higher tertile of adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with lower odds of multi-morbidity compared with the lower tertile, and this result was statistically significant even after adjusting for age, gender, smoking habits and physical activity (OR = 0·68, 95 % CI 0·46, 0·99). Conclusions: The study provides evidence of the adherence to the Mediterranean diet in Cypriot population and its association with multi-morbidity. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with lower risk of multi-morbidity. Future research would attempt to replicate such results that could add solid pieces of evidence towards meeting some criteria of causality and severity tests; hence, prevention programmes and practice guidelines in Cyprus and elsewhere should take into account those beneficial effects.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4546-4555
Number of pages10
JournalPublic Health Nutrition
Volume24
Issue number14
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 27 Oct 2021
Externally publishedYes

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