In a long watch over more than one hundred thousand women, followed for roughly two decades, a pattern has begun to surface: those who most faithfully kept to a Mediterranean table, rich in vegetables, legumes, fruit, fish and olive oil, were less often struck by stroke. The finding, reported in Neurology Open Access, arrives at a moment when strokes remain among the great burdens of illness and death, and when women, whose risk rises sharply after menopause, have too often been studied as a footnote. It is an encouraging signal rather than a settled verdict, since it rests on memories of meal
Mediterranean Diet Linked to Lower Stroke Risk in Women, Large Long-Term Study Finds
Women with the highest adherence were 18 percent less likely to have any stroke.
Mark
The headline number is 18 percent. What does that actually compare?
Mimi
Women with the highest adherence scores against the rest of the group, over an average of 21 years, among more than 105,600 women.
Mark
And the 25 percent figure I keep seeing?
Mimi
That's for hemorrhagic stroke, the bleeding kind. Ischemic stroke, the blockage kind and the more common one, was down 16 percent.
Luke
Worth noting the hemorrhagic group is small: 725 strokes, against 3,358 ischemic. The 25 percent rests on fewer events.
Mark
Why study women specifically?
Mimi
Women have a higher lifetime stroke incidence than men, partly from the jump in risk after menopause, and more of the risk factors like hypertension and arrhythmia.
Luke
The diet was self-reported on a questionnaire, and the researchers say that limits accuracy. The study shows a link, not proof the diet caused the lower risk.
Mark
Do we know why it might work?
Mimi
Not yet. The researchers say more studies are needed to understand the mechanisms.
Luke
Right, so the mechanism is unknown, and the findings still need confirmation.
Il Polso
- A stroke can strike in a moment, and this study tracks over 4,000 of them across two decades of women's lives.
- Researchers found that the closer a woman's eating came to the Mediterranean pattern, the fewer strokes she suffered, with the sharpest drop seen in brain bleeds.
- The central doubt is that diet was self-reported, so the picture depends on how faithfully women remembered what they ate.
- The study's authors are pressing for further research to confirm the link and uncover the biological mechanisms before the advice is treated as settled.
In a long watch over more than one hundred thousand women, followed for roughly two decades, a pattern has begun to surface: those who most faithfully kept to a Mediterranean table, rich in vegetables, legumes, fruit, fish and olive oil, were less often struck by stroke. The finding, reported in Neurology Open Access, arrives at a moment when strokes remain among the great burdens of illness and death, and when women, whose risk rises sharply after menopause, have too often been studied as a footnote. It is an encouraging signal rather than a settled verdict, since it rests on memories of meals rather than measured intake, and its authors ask that the pattern be tested again before it is trusted fully.
A study following more than 105,600 women for an average of 21 years has found that those who most closely followed a Mediterranean diet were less likely to suffer a stroke. The research, published in Neurology Open Access, began with women averaging 53 years old who had never had a stroke. Each completed a questionnaire about their eating and received a score reflecting how well it matched a pattern built on vegetables, legumes, fruit, fish and olive oil, with dairy, red meat and saturated fats kept low.
Over the years, the researchers recorded 4,083 strokes, most of them ischemic, caused by blocked blood flow to the brain, and the rest hemorrhagic, caused by bleeding. The women with the highest adherence were 18 percent less likely to have any stroke. The reduction was 16 percent for ischemic strokes and 25 percent for hemorrhagic ones, the figure that gives the diet its claim to cut risk by up to a quarter.
Study author Sophia S. Wang of the City of Hope cancer research centre called the findings further support for diet as a foundation of stroke prevention, noting how devastating and common the condition is. The focus on women reflects their higher lifetime stroke risk, which climbs after menopause.
The researchers are careful about their own limits. Because the diet data were self-reported, some of it may be inaccurate, and they say more studies are needed to confirm the results and explain how the diet may protect the brain.
A study that followed more than 105,600 women for an average of 21 years has found that those who most closely followed a Mediterranean diet had a lower risk of stroke. The work was published in Neurology Open Access, an official journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
At the start, the women averaged 53 years old and had no history of stroke. Each filled out a questionnaire about what she ate, and was given a score from zero to nine reflecting how closely her diet matched the Mediterranean pattern. That pattern is largely plant-based and built around healthy fats, especially olive oil. It emphasizes vegetables, legumes, fruits and fish, and keeps dairy, red meat and saturated fats low.
Over the follow-up period, the researchers recorded 4,083 strokes. Of these, 3,358 were ischemic, the most common kind, in which blood flow to part of the brain is blocked. The other 725 were hemorrhagic, caused by bleeding in the brain.
Women with the highest adherence scores were 18 percent less likely to have any stroke than the others. The reduction was 16 percent for ischemic stroke and 25 percent for hemorrhagic stroke. The 25 percent figure is the one behind the claim that the diet can cut stroke risk in women by up to a quarter.
"Our findings support the mounting evidence that a healthy diet is critical to stroke prevention," said study author Sophia S. Wang, of the City of Hope cancer research centre in the United States. She added that because stroke is a leading cause of death and disability, it is encouraging to think that improving diet could lessen the risk of such a devastating disease.
The study's focus on women has a reason behind it. It notes that women have a higher lifetime incidence of stroke than men, partly because of a sharp rise in risk after menopause. Women also have a higher lifetime prevalence of stroke risk factors, including hypertension and arrhythmia.
The researchers acknowledge a main limitation: the diet data were self-reported, so some of the information may not be fully accurate. They say more studies are needed to confirm the findings and to explain the mechanisms behind them, which could point to new ways of preventing stroke.
The result adds to a long list of associations with the Mediterranean diet. A recent study linked it to a lower risk of dementia among people with genetic risk, with slower cognitive decline. Other benefits cited include better gum health, better sugar control and less age-related cognitive decline. The next step is confirmation in further research.
Citazioni salienti
Our findings support the mounting evidence that a healthy diet is critical to stroke prevention.— Sophia S. Wang, City of Hope
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