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Objective: To investigate the association of Mediterranean food group consumption with successful aging (SA), among people more than 50 years old. Method: Dietary habits, as well as several bio-clinical characteristics of the Greek participants enrolled in the ATTICA (n = 1,128 men and women from Athens metropolitan area) and the MEDIS (n = 2,221 men and women from selected Greek islands) cohort studies were investigated in relation to SA; SA was measured using a validated 10-scale index. Results: Multivariate discriminant food group analysis revealed that legumes consumption, followed by vegetables, cereals, and poultry were associated with higher levels of SA index (explained variability: 7.9%), mainly among islanders, but not among mainland participants. Further analysis revealed that alcohol consumption was positively associated with SA for mainlanders (ATTICA study) but inversely for islanders (MEDIS study; all p 's <.05). Conclusion: The differential and hierarchical effect of various foods on SA and the diet-environmental interaction revealed in the present work may help health professionals to better understand the role of diet on SA, and to prioritize the nutritional needs of older people for better quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Visceral adiposity index (VAI) is a novel marker of visceral adipose tissue accumulation and dysfunction. The study aim was to explore the association of VAI with the 10-year type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) incidence in apparently healthy individuals and compare its T2DM predictive ability against common anthropometric indices.Methods: In 2001 to 2002, the ATTICA study (Greece) recruited a random sample of 1514 and 1528 CVD-free men (18-87 years old) and women (18-89 years old), respectively. Sociodemographic, lifestyle, clinical, and biochemical characteristics of participants were measured at baseline, and the 10-year follow-up was performed during 2011 to 2012. After excluding participants with diabetes at baseline and participants without complete follow-up information regarding diabetes status and/or baseline VAI values, the working sample consisted of 1049 participants. In this sample, the predictive value of baseline VAI value was studied in relation to 10-year diabetes incidence.Results: One hundred thirty-three incident cases of diabetes were documented (10-year incidence: 12.7%). In the fully adjusted model, VAI significantly increased diabetes risk by 22% (OR per 1-unit increase =1.22; 95%CI, 1.09-1.37). Markers of oxidative stress and inflammation were found to, at least partly, mediate this relationship. Also, a moderating effect of menstruation status was revealed among women. VAI showed the highest predictive ability and contributed the most, along with waist-to-height ratio, to the correct classification of participants who developed diabetes.Conclusions: The present findings suggest that VAI may be a useful index for predicting long-term diabetes development and may exhibit better predictive ability to commonly used anthropometric indices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the spatial variation of diabetes in relation to the geographical variability of socio-environmental characteristics in the urban districts of Athens., Methods: A sample of 2,445 individuals from the greater area of Athens was randomly enrolled in the ATTICA study between 2001 and 2002. Diabetes was defined according to American Diabetes Association criteria. Geographical and statistical analyses were applied to examine the relationship between diabetes prevalence and factors related to education, economic status, population density, immigrant status, and availability of urban green areas. Diabetes prevalence and socio-environmental factor mapping was based on the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology. Variograms and spatial quasi-Poisson regression analysis evaluated the associations of diabetes with the socio-environmental variables at the municipal level., Results: According to the geographical analysis and mapping, the highest proportions of people with diabetes were found in the West sector and in one district of the East and South sector each. Regression analysis revealed that the proportion of inhabitants with higher education is negatively correlated with diabetes prevalence in the regional areas of Athens., Conclusions: The study revealed that socio-environmental status in residential areas, especially educational and economic levels, is correlated with diabetes prevalence at the aggregate level. These correlations may reflect socio-economic segregation patterns at the district level, and different prevalence rates of diabetes among individuals with higher income and educational levels.

Aim: To identify dietary patterns among apparently healthy individuals and to determine their long-term effect on diabetes incidence., Methods: During 2001-2002, a random sample of 3,042 men and women (18-89 years old), living in greater Athens, was randomly selected to participate in the study. During 2011-2012, the 10-year follow-up was performed in 2,583 participants (15% drop-out rate). After excluding participants with diabetes at baseline and those for whom no information on diabetes status was available at follow-up, the working sample consisted of 1,485 participants. Dietary habits were assessed by means of a validated semi-quantitative, food frequency questionnaire. Factor analysis was performed to extract dietary patterns from 18 food groups., Results: Diabetes diagnosis at follow-up was made in 191 participants, yielding an incidence rate of 12.9%. Six factors (i.e. dietary patterns) were identified that explained 54% of the variation in consumption. After adjusting for major confounders, and stratification by age-group, logistic regression revealed that the most healthful pattern consisted of the consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, bread, rusk, and pasta which reduced the 10-year diabetes risk by 40%, among participants aged 45-55 years. The association reached marginal statistical significance (95% CI: 0.34, 1.07), while no significant association was observed for the other age-groups. When the analysis was additionally adjusted for carbohydrate percentage, statistical significance was lost completely, suggesting a possibly mediating effect of this macronutrient., Conclusions: The results confirm the potentially protective effect of a plant-based dietary pattern in the primary prevention of diabetes, in particular among middle-aged people. Carbohydrate content may be a specific factor in this relationship; other micronutrients found in plant-based food groups may also play a role.