Evidence on the Role of the Mediterranean Diet as a Whole in Longevity

In a study undertaken in Greece, an overall nutritional score describing the traditional Mediterranean Diet and particularly the Greek version of it, and based on the eight characteristics of this diet, was a priori defined. The investigators reported that adherence to the traditional diet, as reflected by the nutritional score, favorably affected life expectancy among elderly people. Furthermore, when the individual components of this score were examined, they had weak and generally nonsignificant associations with survival, in contrast to the overall score, which had a substantial and significant effect. The favorable effect of the Mediterranean Diet on the survival of the elderly, assessed again through a score based on the eight characteristics of
this diet, was also shown in a study conducted in Spain.
Results of studies of the Mediterranean Diet in Mediterranean populations, however, may be confounded by the likely association of adult diet with early life nutritional patterns and culture-specific psychosocial variables such as social support. A study performed in Denmark, however, provided similar results, and so did a study examining the diets of Greek-Australians and Anglo-Celt Australians.