Mediterranean Diet Benefits Elderly Hospitalized Patients

…at least in Greece, where the study was done.

Not sure where this is. Leave a comment if you recognize it.

The Mediterranean diet in an observational study of folks over 65 admitted to a hospital was linked to:

• Shorter duration of hospitalization
• Reduced healthcare cost
• Improved longevity

The study at hand lasted two years.

Abstract

Objective:

Mediterranean diet (MD) has been related to reduced overall mortality and improved diseases’ outcome. Purpose of our study was to estimate the impact of MD on duration of admission, financial cost and mortality (from hospitalization up to 24 months afterwards) in elderly, hospitalized patients.

Research Methods & Procedures:

One hundred eighty three elderly patients (aged >65 years), urgently admitted for any cause in the Internal Medicine department of our hospital, participated in this observational study. Duration of admission and its financial cost, mortality (during hospitalization, 6 and 24 months after discharge), physical activity, medical and anthropometric data were recorded and they were correlated with the level of adherence to MD (MedDiet score).

Results:

In multivariate analyses, duration of admission decreased 0.3 days for each unit increase of MedDiet score (p<0.0001), 2.1 days for each 1g/dL increase of albumin (p=0.001) and increased 0.1 days for each day of previous admissions (p<0.0001). Extended hospitalization (p<0.0001) and its interaction with MedDiet score (p=0.01) remained the significant associated variables for financial cost. Mortality risk increased 3% per each year increase of age (HR=1.03, p=0.02), 6% for each previous admission (HR=1.06, p=0.04) whereas it decreased 13% per each unit increase of MedDiet score (HR=0.87, p<0.0001).

Conclusion:

Adoption of MD decreases duration of admission and long-term mortality in elderly hospitalized patients with parallel reduction of relevant financial cost.

Source: The impact of Mediterranean Diet on duration of admission, medical expenses and mortality in elderly, hospitalized patients: A 2-year observational study – ScienceDirect

I haven’t read the entire article. Didn’t see any need, based on my prior knowledge of the Mediterranean diet. The findings are not unexpected.

Steve Parker, M.D.

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