The mountainous Cretan dietary patterns and their relationship with cardiovascular risk factors: the Hellenic Isolated Cohorts MANOLIS study

Abstract

AbstractObjectiveWe carried outde novorecruitment of a population-based cohort (MANOLIS study) and describe the specific population, which displays interesting characteristics in terms of diet and health in old age, through deep phenotyping.DesignCross-sectional study where anthropometric, biochemical and clinical measurements were taken in addition to interview-based completion of an extensive questionnaire on health and lifestyle parameters. Dietary patterns were derived through principal component analysis based on a validated FFQ.SettingGeographically isolated Mylopotamos villages on Mount Idi, Crete, Greece.SubjectsAdults (n1553).ResultsMean age of the participants was 61·6 years and 55·8 % were women. Of the population, 82·7 % were overweight or obese with a significantly different prevalence between overweight men and women (43·4v. 34·7 %,P=0·002). The majority (70·6 %) of participants were married, while a larger proportion of women were widowed than men (27·8v. 3·5 %,P<0·001). Smoking was more prevalent in men (38·7v. 8·2 %,P<0·001), as 88·8% of women had never smoked. Four dietary patterns emerged as characteristic of the population; these were termed ‘local’, ‘high fat and sugar, ‘Greek café/tavern’ and ‘olive oil, fruits and vegetables’. Individuals more adherent to the local dietary pattern presented higher blood glucose (β=4·026,P<0·001). Similarly, individuals with higher compliance with the Greek café/tavern pattern had higher waist-to-hip ratio (β=0·012,P<0·001), blood pressure (β=1·015,P=0·005) and cholesterol (β=5·398,P<0·001).ConclusionsProfiling of the MANOLIS elderly population identifies unique unhealthy dietary patterns that are associated with cardiometabolic indices.