In studies from Italy and Greece, a Mediterranean dietary pattern was shown to favorably affect life expectancy in the elderly population. This pattern is thought to reduce the risk of cancer in addition to being cardioprotective.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the interactive effects of the Mediterranean diet and age with respect to survival after controlling for several other variables that could be considered as confounders: age, sex, body mass index, albumin concentration, physical activity, self-assessment of health, and dieting in response to chronic conditions.
This was a cohort study involving 161 nonsmoking elderly subjects (74 subjects aged <80 y and 87 subjects aged > or =80 y) living in Spain. The subjects were followed up for > or =9 y. Diet was assessed with a semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire.
A diet score based on 8 characteristics of the traditional diet in the Mediterranean region was associated with a significant reduction in overall mortality in elderly subjects aged <80 y but not in subjects aged > or =80 y. A unit increase in the diet score predicted a 31% reduction in mortality in subjects aged <80 y (95% CI: 7%, 57%).
Efforts to promote adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern appear to be worthwhile in persons aged <80 y, in whom the diet predicts survival, but we do not have any available evidence that such a diet benefits subjects aged > or =80 y.