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Mediterranean diet cools down the inflammatory milieu in type 2 diabetes: the MÉDITA randomized controlled trial

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Abstract

Mediterranean-style diets provide cardiovascular benefits and increase insulin sensitivity. There is little evidence that adherence to Mediterranean diet may influence the levels of the inflammatory milieu in type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to assess whether Mediterranean diet influences both C-reactive protein (CRP) and adiponectin in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes, and whether adherence to Mediterranean diet affects their circulating levels. In a two-arm, single-center trial, 215 men and women with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes were randomized to a Mediterranean diet (n = 108, 54 males and 54 females) or a low-fat diet (n = 107, 52 males and 55 females), with a total follow-up of 8.1 years. At baseline visit and at 1 year, body weight, HOMA index, CRP, and adiponectin and its fractions were assessed. Adherence to the diets was assessed by calculating the Mediterranean-diet score. At 1 year, CPR fell by 37 % and adiponectin rose by 43 % in the Mediterranean diet group, while remaining unchanged in the low-fat diet group. The pattern of adiponectin fractions (high and non-high molecular weight) showed a response similar to that of total adiponectin. Diabetic patients with the highest scores (6–9 points) of adherence to Mediterranean diet had lower circulating CRP level and higher circulating total adiponectin levels than the diabetic patients who scored <3 points on the scale (P = 0.001). The results of this randomized controlled trial demonstrate that Mediterranean diet cools down the inflammatory milieu of type 2 diabetes.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported in part by the Second University of Naples and the Associazione Salute con Stile.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases Unit, Department of Medical, Surgical, Neurological, Metabolic Sciences and Aging, Second University of Naples, Piazza L. Miraglia 2, 80138, Naples, Italy

    Maria Ida Maiorino, Giuseppe Bellastella, Michela Petrizzo, Lorenzo Scappaticcio & Dario Giugliano

  2. Diabetes Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Second University of Naples, Piazza L. Miraglia no. 2, 80138, Naples, Italy

    Katherine Esposito

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  1. Maria Ida Maiorino
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  2. Giuseppe Bellastella
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Correspondence to Maria Ida Maiorino.

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ClinicalTrials.gov identification number: NCT00725257.

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Maiorino, M.I., Bellastella, G., Petrizzo, M. et al. Mediterranean diet cools down the inflammatory milieu in type 2 diabetes: the MÉDITA randomized controlled trial. Endocrine 54, 634–641 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-016-0881-1

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