Interplay Between Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet, Lipid Profile and Blood Pressure: a Comparative Survey Among Healthcare and Non-Healthcare Female Workers

The study aims at testing the level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet among health-workers, comparing this aspect to the extra-working physical activity, anthropometric measures and prevalence of cardiovascular, metabolic and neoplastic diseases previously diagnosed.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Hypertension; Hypercholesterolemia; Diet Habit
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Observational

Detailed Description

The study had a cross-sectional setting and included employees of both genders currently in service.

Baseline data collection was structured as follows:

• Clinical assessment and pathological history
• Anthropometric measurements;
• Haematochemical examinations;
• Screening to adherence to Med-Diet by using "MedDietScore" questionnaire
• Assessment of the Harvard Cancer Risk Index for the evaluation of risk factors, modifiable and not, of the most frequent oncological diseases in Italy (colon, lung, breast and prostate). The index provides an estimate of individual cancer risk and is not equivalent to a cancer diagnosis. In addition, the Harvard Cancer Risk Index itself can allow the doctor to advise the worker on useful measures to reduce it;
• International Physical Activity Questionnairre (IPAQ)
• Major anthropometric and haematochemical data also allow to obtain one of the most used risk indexes for cardiovascular diseases in the scientific literature the Framingham Score.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 147

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Italy
  • Puglia
    • Bari, Puglia, Italy, 70125
      • Antonella Pipoli

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 20 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

One hundred and forty-seven subjects were randomly recruited at the Operating Unit of Occupational Medicine of the University Polyclinic Hospital of Bari in the last quarter of 2019. The whole sample included only female employees of public companies with at least 16 years of schooling, and subject to health surveillance by the occupational physicians of the above Operating Unit, subdivided as follows: fifty-nine HCWs (doctors and professional nurses) employees at the University Hospital of Bari, and eighty-eight employees of other public companies but not operating in the field of healthcare (non-HCWs).

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Women of working age
• Level of education at least equal to Bachelor's degree

Exclusion Criteria:

• Men
• Women under 20 years old or over 65 years old

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Healtcare workers; Women who work as nurses or doctors in public hospitals of which anthropometric and haematochemical data have been collected. Workers were given a questionnaire for the evaluation of the adherence to the Mediterranean diet.	Other: Observational; Evaluation of adherence to the Mediterranean diet through the administration of the Med Diet Score questionnaire.
Non-Healthcare workers; Women who perform technical and managerial professions in a public administration body of which anthropometric and haematochemical data have been collected. Workers were given a questionnaire for the evaluation of the adherence to the Mediterranean diet.	Other: Observational; Evaluation of adherence to the Mediterranean diet through the administration of the Med Diet Score questionnaire.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Adherence to the Mediterranean diet greater control of circulating lipid levels	Score of adherence (points)	at Baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Fasting plasma glucose	Fasting plasma glucose in mg/dl	Baseline
Serum insulin	Serum insulin microU/ml	Baseline
systolic blood pressure	systolic blood pressure (mmHg)	Baseline
diastolic blood pressure	diastolic blood pressure (mmHg)	Baseline
Waist circumference	Waist circumference in centimeters	Baseline
BMI (Body Mass Index)	BMI in kilograms/(meters)2	Baseline
LDL-Cholesterol	LDL-Cholesterol in mg/dl	Baseline
Triglycerides	Triglyceridesin mg/dl	Baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Bari Aldo Moro
• Collaborators: Azienda Ospedaliera Specializzata in Gastroenterologia Saverio de Bellis

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Menotti A, Kromhout D, Blackburn H, Fidanza F, Buzina R, Nissinen A. Food intake patterns and 25-year mortality from coronary heart disease: cross-cultural correlations in the Seven Countries Study. The Seven Countries Study Research Group. Eur J Epidemiol. 1999 Jul;15(6):507-15. doi: 10.1023/a:1007529206050.
• D'Alessandro A, De Pergola G. Mediterranean diet pyramid: a proposal for Italian people. Nutrients. 2014 Oct 16;6(10):4302-16. doi: 10.3390/nu6104302.
• Di Lorenzo L, Pipoli A, Manghisi NM, Clodoveo ML, Corbo F, De Pergola G, Sabba C. Nutritional hazard analysis and critical control points at work (NACCPW): interdisciplinary assessment of subjective and metabolic work-related risk of the workers and their prevention. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2020 Nov;71(7):902-908. doi: 10.1080/09637486.2020.1750572. Epub 2020 Apr 7.
• Juarez-Perez CA, Aguilar-Madrid G, Haro-Garcia LC, Gopar-Nieto R, Cabello-Lopez A, Jimenez-Ramirez C, Aguado A, Martinez-Mendez LM, Chavez-Negrete A. Increased Cardiovascular Risk Using Atherogenic Index Measurement Among Healthcare Workers. Arch Med Res. 2015 Apr;46(3):233-9. doi: 10.1016/j.arcmed.2015.03.002. Epub 2015 Mar 19.
• Panagiotakos DB, Pitsavos C, Stefanadis C. Dietary patterns: a Mediterranean diet score and its relation to clinical and biological markers of cardiovascular disease risk. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2006 Dec;16(8):559-68. doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2005.08.006. Epub 2006 Feb 9.
• Di Lorenzo L, Vimercati L, Pipoli A, Manghisi NM, Lampignano L, Caputi A, De Maria L, Zupo R, De Pergola G. Interplay Between Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and Lipid Profile: A Comparative Survey Between Day-Time Healthcare and Non-healthcare Female Workers. Front Public Health. 2021 Nov 4;9:649760. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.649760. eCollection 2021.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 10, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 28, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): February 28, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 8, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 15, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): October 22, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 22, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 15, 2020
• Last Verified: October 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Lipid profile; Mediterranean Diet; Healthcare workers
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Metabolic Diseases; Lipid Metabolism Disorders; Hyperlipidemias; Dyslipidemias; Hypercholesterolemia
• Other Study ID Numbers: 10/2018

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No