Women who follow a Mediterranean diet have up to 24 per cent lower risk of heart disease and 23 per cent lower risk of death, according to a new study.
This University of Sydney-led review is the first of its kind to examine the association between the Mediterranean diet, cardiovascular disease and mortality specifically in women.
Researchers specified a ‘Mediterranean diet’ as being high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and healthy fats like olive oil and nuts, with a moderate intake of seafood and lean protein.
“The Mediterranean diet is known for its health benefits, especially for heart health, but most studies and research into diet and heart disease are done primarily in men,” said Anushriya Pant, a University of Sydney PhD candidate at the Westmead Applied Research Centre (WARC) and lead of this groundbreaking analysis.
“Now we have confirmed that similar benefits apply for women’s dietary guidelines,” she says.
Published in Heart Journal, the findings examined data from 16 published studies where women were following the Mediterranean diet. These studies occurred between 2006 and 2021 and involved over 722,000 female participants.
Further analysis of the data also showed a reduced risk of heart disease and death applied to all women, regardless of ethnicity.
Women of European descent have a 24 per cent lower risk, women of non-European descent (Asian, Native Hawaiian and African American) have a 21 per cent lower risk.
Heart disease is the primary cause of death globally, however there are sex disparities in its treatment and diagnosis, with growing international calls for sex-specific cardiovascular research.
“In medical research, there are sex disparities in how clinical trials are designed,” adds Pant. “This creates large gaps in clinical data, which can potentially impact the development of health advice.”
“Our work is a step towards addressing this gap,” she said.
According to the study’s researchers, these new results on eating a Mediterranean diet will be invaluable in updating dietary and clinical guidelines such as the Australian dietary guidelines for women.
The latest report comparing Australian women’s diets to national dietary guidelines found that less than 1 in 10 Australian women are meeting fruit and vegetable intake guidelines.
“A healthy diet is a huge factor in preventing heart disease,” said Associate Professor Sarah Zaman, the senior author from the University of Sydney Westmead Applied Research Centre and a Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow
Associate Professor Zaman also notes that, “Historically research trials and studies have had predominantly male participants, or lacked sex-specific analysis,”
“Our results will pave the way to bridge this gap, and also highlights the need for more research to ensure health guidelines and policies include diverse perspectives.”