Many studies have reported that higher adherence to Mediterranean diet may decrease cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence and mortality. We performed a meta-analysis to explore the association in prospective studies and randomized control trials (RCTs) between Mediterranean diet adherence and CVD incidence and mortality. The PubMed database was searched up to June 2014. A total of 17 studies were extracted and 11 qualified for the quantitative analysis. Individuals in the highest quantile of adherence to the diet had lower incidence [relative risk (RR): 0.76, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.68, 0.83] and mortality (RR: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.68, 0.83) from CVD compared to those least adherent. A significant reduction of risk was found also for coronary heart disease (CHD) (RR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.60, 0.86), myocardial infarction (MI) (RR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.54, 0.83), and stroke (RR: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.60, 0.96) incidence. Pooled analyses of individual components of the diet revealed that the protective effects of the diet appear to be most attributable to olive oil, fruits, vegetables, and legumes. An average reduced risk of 40% for the aforementioned outcomes has been retrieved when pooling results of RCTs. A Mediterranean dietary pattern is associated with lower risks of CVD incidence and mortality, including CHD and MI. The relative effects of specific food groups should be further investigated.

Recent evidence has suggested that flavonoid and lignan intake may be associated with decreased risk of chronic and degenerative diseases. The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the association between dietary flavonoid and lignan intake and all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in prospective cohort studies. A systematic search was conducted in electronic databases to identify studies published from January 1996 to December 2015 that satisfied inclusion/exclusion criteria. Risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals were extracted and analyzed using a random-effects model. Nonlinear dose-response analysis was modeled by using restricted cubic splines. The inclusion criteria were met by 22 prospective studies exploring various flavonoid and lignan classes. Compared with lower intake, high consumption of total flavonoids was associated with decreased risk of all-cause mortality (risk ratio = 0.74, 95% confidence intervals: 0.55, 0.99), while a 100-mg/day increment in intake led to a (linear) decreased risk of 6% and 4% of all-cause and CVD mortality, respectively. Among flavonoid classes, significant results were obtained for intakes of flavonols, flavones, flavanones, anthocyanidins, and proanthocyanidins. Only limited evidence was available on flavonoid classes and lignans and all-cause mortality. Findings from this meta-analysis indicated that dietary flavonoids are associated with decreased risk of all-cause and CVD mortality.

Most evidence reported in previous meta-analyses was driven by case-control studies. Overall results may be promising but are inconclusive. Further prospective cohorts assessing dietary polyphenol exposure and studies using other methods to evaluate exposure (i.e. markers of consumption, metabolism, excretion) are needed to confirm and determine consumption levels required to achieve health benefits.

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This study suggests a protective effect of coffee and, partially, of tea and caffeine on risk of depression.

Nut consumption is associated with lower risk of all-cause, CVD, and cancer mortality, but the presence of confounding factors should be taken into account when considering such findings.

Coffee consumption has been associated with several benefits toward human health. However, its association with mortality risk has yielded contrasting results, including a non-linear relation to all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality and no association with cancer mortality. As smoking habits may affect the association between coffee and health outcomes, the aim of the present study was to update the latest dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies on the association between coffee consumption and mortality risk and conduct stratified analyses by smoking status and other potential confounders. A systematic search was conducted in electronic databases to identify relevant studies, risk estimates were retrieved from the studies, and dose-response analysis was modeled by using restricted cubic splines. A total of 31 studies comprising 1610,543 individuals and 183,991 cases of all-cause, 34,574 of CVD, and 40,991 of cancer deaths were selected. Analysis showed decreased all-cause [relative risk (RR) = 0.86, 95 % confidence interval (CI) = 0.82, 0.89)] and CVD mortality risk (RR = 0.85, 95 % CI = 0.77, 0.93) for consumption of up to 4 cups/day of coffee, while higher intakes were associated with no further lower risk. When analyses were restricted only to non-smokers, a linear decreased risk of all-cause (RR = 0.94, 95 % CI = 0.93, 0.96), CVD (RR = 0.94, 95 % CI = 0.91, 0.97), and cancer mortality (RR = 0.98, 95 % CI = 0.96, 1.00) for 1 cup/day increase was found. The search for other potential confounders, including dose-response analyses in subgroups by gender, geographical area, year of publication, and type of coffee, showed no relevant differences between strata. In conclusion, coffee consumption is associated with decreased risk of mortality from all-cause, CVD, and cancer; however, smoking modifies the observed risk when studying the role of coffee on human health.

PurposeThe aim of this study was to evaluate whether daily consumption of coffee and tea was associated with components and prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in the Polish arm of the Health, Alcohol and Psychosocial factors In Eastern Europe cohort study.MethodsA cross-sectional population-based survey including 8,821 adults (51.4 % female) was conducted in Krakow, Poland. Coffee and tea consumption was evaluated using food frequency questionnaires. MetS was defined according to the International Diabetes Federation definition. Linear and logistic regression models were performed to estimate odds ratios and confidence intervals.ResultsAmong high coffee and tea consumers (3 or more cups/day), high prevalence of female gender, young age, medium–high educational and occupational level, high total energy intake, and smoking habit were found. High coffee drinkers had lower BMI, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides, and higher HDL cholesterol than those drinking less than 1 cup/day. In contrast, high tea consumers had lower BMI, waist circumference, but not diastolic blood pressure, which was higher than low drinkers. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, both higher coffee and tea consumption were negatively associated with MetS (OR 0.75, 95 % CI 0.66, 0.86 and OR 0.79, 95 % CI 0.67, 0.92, respectively). Among specific components of MetS, high coffee consumption was negatively associated with waist circumference, hypertension, and triglycerides, whereas tea consumption with central obesity and fasting plasma glucose in women, but not in men.ConclusionsCoffee and tea consumption was negatively associated with MetS and some of its components.