Adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with better quality of life: data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative

Veronese N, Stubbs B, Noale M, et al. · The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Higher Mediterranean-diet adherence was associated with modestly better physical quality of life (SF-12 physical score beta 0.10 per aMED point, 95% CI 0.05-0.15) and lower WOMAC pain and disability scores, though not stiffness; when the same scores were dichotomised, only the SF-12 physical score and right-knee total WOMAC still separated (OR 1.17-1.20).

Population

4,470 adults with or at risk of knee OA (Osteoarthritis Initiative; 2,605 women, mean age 61), cross-sectional analysis

Intervention

Adherence to Mediterranean diet (aMED score, observational)

Limitations

Cross-sectional; food-frequency self-report; healthy-user confounding very likely; small effect sizes. The Osteoarthritis Initiative is funded by NIH with Merck, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer; the authors declare no conflicts.