Andrija Štampar Teaching Institute of Public Health, Mirogojska 16, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, Pierottijeva 6, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Mar 10;20(6):4893. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20064893.
With the increase in life expectancy, expectation of a longer healthy life is also increasing. Importance of consumption of certain foods is confirmed to have a strong effect on quality of life. One of the healthiest dietary patterns consistently associated with a range of beneficial health outcomes is the Mediterranean diet (MD). The aim of this study was to assess MD adherence in the population over 50 years of age, in Europe, with special reference to Croatia, and to assess regional differences and investigate the association with health-related indicators (disease incidence, body mass index (BMI), grip strength measure, control, autonomy, self-realization, and pleasure scale (CASP-12)). This research uses data from the SHARE project for the population over 50 years of age. The frequency of individual responses was analyzed (frequencies, cross tables, and appropriate tests of significance, depending on the data set), and logistic regression was used to connect adherence to the Mediterranean diet with health indicators. The results of the study indicate a positive correlation between adherence to the principles of the Mediterranean diet with CASP and self-perception of health, which the followers of the MD pattern predominantly rate as "very good" or "excellent" (37.05%) what is significantly different ( < 0.05) from individuals which do not follow the patterns of MD (21.55%). The regression models indicate significant changes in the measure of maximum grip strength also among MD followers (OR = 1.449; OR = 1.293). Data for EU countries are also classified by regions (Central and Eastern; Northern, Southern and Western Europe), additionally allocating Croatia, and the trends in meat, fish and egg consumption showed the greatest differences for Croatian participants (39.6% twice a week) versus participants from four European regions. Data for Croatia deviates from the European average also in terms of the proportion of overweight and obese persons in all observed age groups, of which the largest proportion is in the 50-64 age group (normal BMI: only 30.3%). This study extended the currently available literature covering 27 European countries, placing the findings in a wider geographical context. The Mediterranean diet has once again proven to be an important factor related to health-related behavior. The presented results are extremely important for public health services, indicating possible critical factors in preserving the health of the population over 50 years old.
随着预期寿命的增加，人们对更长健康寿命的期望也在增加。人们已经确认，某些食物的消费对生活质量有很强的影响。与一系列有益的健康结果一致的最健康的饮食模式之一是地中海饮食（MD）。本研究的目的是评估欧洲 50 岁以上人群的 MD 依从性，特别是克罗地亚，并评估区域差异，并研究与健康相关指标（疾病发病率、体重指数（BMI）、握力测量、控制、自主、自我实现和快乐量表（CASP-12））的关联。本研究使用 SHARE 项目中 50 岁以上人群的数据。分析了个体反应的频率（频率、交叉表和适当的显著性检验，取决于数据集），并使用逻辑回归将地中海饮食的依从性与健康指标联系起来。研究结果表明，地中海饮食原则的依从性与 CASP 呈正相关，并且与健康自我感知呈正相关，MD 模式的追随者主要将其评为“非常好”或“优秀”（37.05%），这与不遵循 MD 模式的个体有显著差异（<0.05）。回归模型还表明，MD 追随者的最大握力测量值也发生了显著变化（OR=1.449；OR=1.293）。欧盟国家的数据也按地区（中欧和东欧；北欧、南欧和西欧）进行分类，另外还分配了克罗地亚，肉类、鱼类和蛋类消费的趋势在克罗地亚参与者（每周两次 39.6%）和四个欧洲地区的参与者之间显示出最大差异。克罗地亚的数据在所有观察到的年龄组中超重和肥胖者的比例方面也偏离了欧洲平均水平，其中最大比例出现在 50-64 岁年龄组（正常 BMI：只有 30.3%）。本研究扩展了目前涵盖 27 个欧洲国家的可用文献，将研究结果置于更广泛的地理背景下。地中海饮食再次被证明是与健康相关行为相关的重要因素。所呈现的结果对公共卫生服务极为重要，表明了在 50 岁以上人群中保持健康的可能关键因素。
