Archives of Hellenic Medicine

Last update:

21-Apr-2019

Arch Hellen Med, 37(3), May-June 2019, 369-373

ORIGINAL PAPER

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus:
Comparison between urban and rural populations

A.K. Papazafiropoulou,¹ M. Stamatelatou,² E.M. Tzouganatou,¹ E. Gergopoulos,¹ L. Mpoumi,¹ G. Tziomalos,² S. Solidaki,² M. Dasenaki,² A. Melidonis¹
¹First Department of Internal Medicine and Diabetes Center, "Tzaneio" General Hospital, Pireus,
²Department of Internal Medicine and Diabetes Clinic, General Hospital Health Center of Siteia, Siteia, Crete, Greece

OBJECTIVE To estimate adherence to the Mediterranean diet among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and to compare the rates between urban and rural populations.

METHOD The study was conducted with 139 patients with DM (80 males) attending the outpatient diabetic clinic of the "Tzaneio" General Hospital in Pireus (an urban population) and 149 patients with DM (62 males) attending the outpatient diabetic clinic of the General Hospital of Sitia in Crete (a rural population) from September to December 2017. Their adherence to the Mediterranean diet was assessed by the dietary scale MedDietScore (reference range 0–55, higher scores suggesting greater adherence).

RESULTS Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was higher in the patients of the outpatient diabetic clinic of the "Tzaneio" Hospital (MedDietScore: 30.29±4.66) than in the patients of the outpatient diabetic clinic of the General Hospital of Sitia (MedDietScore: 24.62±3.79) (p<0.001). The difference in adherence applied to both the males: "Tzaneio" (MedDietScore: 31.30±4.45), Sitia (MedDietScore: 24.65±2.15) (p<0.001) and the females: "Tzaneio" (MedDietScore: 28.93±4.63), Sitia (MedDietScore: 24.60±2.30) (p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS This study showed that patients with type 2 DM who live in the city appear to adhere better to the Mediterranean diet than those who live in rural areas.

Key words: Adherence, Mediterranean diet, Type 2 diabetes mellitus.