Zhou Mingjing, Zhao Xuyan, Liu Peinan, Hou Xiangwei, Cao Yiyang, Wang Maode, Wang Jia
Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 277, Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, People's Republic of China.
Center of Brain Science, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, China.
Eur J Med Res. 2025 Aug 21;30(1):786. doi: 10.1186/s40001-025-03065-6.
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that can affect individuals of all genders and ages. Recent studies have indicated that the Mediterranean diet exerts a neuroprotective effect through its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties in non-Mediterranean regions. However, the association between the Mediterranean diet and epilepsy requires further elucidation.
A total of 14,259 participants were enrolled in this study from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database, spanning the period from 2013 to 2018. Weighted logistic regression analysis assessed the association between Mediterranean diet adherence and epilepsy. Random forest analysis was conducted to evaluate the relative importance of diet components. Furthermore, mediation analysis with bootstrapping was employed to explore the mediating role of epilepsy.
After adjusting for all potential covariates, higher Mediterranean diet adherence was associated with a lower risk of epilepsy (OR = 0.50, 95% CI 0.27-0.95, P = 0.033). Moreover, whole grain was identified as a pivotal component. Mediation analysis revealed that stroke functioned as a potential mediating factor in the association between Mediterranean diet adherence and epilepsy (mediation proportion = 6.49%, P = 0.034). In addition, interaction analysis suggested an interaction between the Mediterranean diet and diabetes (P = 0.029).
These novel findings suggested that higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet was linked with a lower risk of epilepsy, with stroke having a potential mediating role in the association. Promoting the Mediterranean diet may be a strategy for epilepsy management, supporting the need for further longitudinal studies.
癫痫是一种可影响所有性别和年龄人群的神经系统疾病。最近的研究表明，地中海饮食通过其抗炎和抗氧化特性在非地中海地区发挥神经保护作用。然而，地中海饮食与癫痫之间的关联尚需进一步阐明。
本研究从2013年至2018年的美国国家健康与营养检查调查（NHANES）数据库中纳入了总共14259名参与者。加权逻辑回归分析评估了地中海饮食依从性与癫痫之间的关联。进行随机森林分析以评估饮食成分的相对重要性。此外，采用自抽样法进行中介分析以探讨癫痫的中介作用。
在对所有潜在协变量进行调整后，较高的地中海饮食依从性与较低的癫痫风险相关（OR = 0.50，95%CI 0.27 - 0.95，P = 0.033）。此外，全谷物被确定为关键成分。中介分析显示，中风在地中海饮食依从性与癫痫之间的关联中起潜在中介作用（中介比例 = 6.49%，P = 0.034）。此外，交互分析表明地中海饮食与糖尿病之间存在交互作用（P = 0.029）。
这些新发现表明，较高的地中海饮食依从性与较低的癫痫风险相关，中风在该关联中具有潜在中介作用。推广地中海饮食可能是癫痫管理的一种策略，这支持了进一步进行纵向研究的必要性。
