Design and Feasibility of a Mediterranean Diet

December 19, 2012 updated by: Zora Djuric, University of Michigan
Epidemiological observations indicate that a Greek-Mediterranean dietary pattern has great potential for cancer prevention, but more definitive data on the preventive effects of this diet are needed. Two distinct aspects of this eating pattern are the type of fat consumed and a high fruit/vegetable intake. If the diet is feasible, it could be used in future clinical trials of breast cancer prevention. In this study, women randomly receive either a control diet or an intervention diet for 6 months. The intervention diet replaces half of the typical American fat intake with foods such as olive oil and nuts. The fruit and vegetable goal is 7-9 servings/day and includes several categories of fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Blood samples are drawn and analyzed for fatty acids derived from fats, micronutrients from fruits and vegetables, and markers of oxidative stress. This dietary trial will provide important data on the ability of women following typical American eating patterns to change their dietary intakes to reflect a Greek-Mediterranean pattern.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

It has been difficult to identify specific nutrients or food groups associated with breast cancer risk from epidemiological studies done in the U.S. Attention is now turning to the importance of overall eating patterns. A Greek-Mediterranean dietary pattern has great potential for cancer prevention. Two distinct aspects of this eating pattern are the type of fat consumed and a high fruit/vegetable intake relative to average intakes in the United States. We propose to develop and test an exchange list Greek-Mediterranean diet that could be used in future clinical trials of breast cancer prevention in women at increased risk. In this proposed study, women will be randomized to either continue their own usual diet or follow an intervention diet for 6 months. The intervention diet will be designed to decrease polyunsaturated (P) and saturated (S) fat intakes while increasing monounsaturated (M) fat intake. The P:S:M ratio of a typical American diet is about 1.0:1.5:1.7, and the goal for this intervention diet will be 1:2:5, which is much closer to that of the traditional Greek diet. A predominant source of fat will be olive oil. The fruit and vegetable goal will be 7-9 servings/day, depending on energy intake. These dietary changes will be achieved using individualized telephone counseling and a monthly group session with a dietitian. Menus will be provided as examples, but the diets will be self-selected. Compliance to the dietary goals will be assessed by food records and levels of plasma fatty acids, lipids and carotenoids. As a feasibility investigation for the planning of larger trials, plasma 8-isoprostane, oxidized lycopene, insulin and glucose levels will also be assessed since these may lend insight into two possible mechanisms that may be responsible for the cancer preventive effects of this diet. This dietary trial will provide important data on the ability of women following typical American eating patterns to change their dietary intakes to reflect a Greek-Mediterranean pattern. This intervention approach can then be tested for its effects on markers of breast cancer risk in future studies.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
80

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Michigan
      • Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48109
        • University of Michigan

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

25 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Good health
  • Normal weight
  • Age 25-65
  • Monounsaturated fat intake less than 48% of total fat
  • Fruit and vegetable intake less than 5.5 servings/day
  • Total fat intake more than 23% of energy

Exclusion Criteria:

  • High blood pressure
  • Obese
  • Pregnant or lactating
  • On medically prescribed diets
  • Taking supplements that obscure the effects of diet
  • Diabetes

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: 1
Mediterranean diet
Behavioral: dietary counseling
telephone counseling
Other Names:
  • high MUFA diet
No Intervention: 2
non-intervention diet

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
fatty acid intakes
Time Frame: 6 months
6 months
carotenoids intakes
Time Frame: 6 months
6 months
fatty acid ratios in blood
Time Frame: 6 months
6 months
carotenoids in blood
Time Frame: 6 months
6 months
cholesterol in blood
Time Frame: 6 months
6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
markers of oxidative stress in blood
Time Frame: 6 months
6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Michigan

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Zora Djuric, PhD, University of Michigan

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 1, 2004

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 1, 2007

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
July 6, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 6, 2005

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
July 14, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
December 20, 2012

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 19, 2012

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
November 1, 2008

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 051517
  • 03B043-REV

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