Effect of adherence level to the Mediterranean diet on blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2021.10.002

Commentary

Hypertension (BP) is a condition that is increasing worldwide and can be considered a preventable factor for cardiovascular, renal, brain and other diseases.

Modifiable risk factors for hypertension include unhealthy dietary patterns, the presence of obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, and lack of physical activity.

This study aims to investigate the impact of MD compliance level on blood pressure.

A systematic literature search (up to 08.2021) was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Google Scholar databases, analyzing 54 observational studies.

The results showed that in systolic blood pressure (SBP) was lower with higher adherence to MD group SMD. On the other hand, the difference regarding diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was low with low adherence to MD group. [SMD: -0.07, (95% CI: -0.13, 0.00)]

For both the high and low adherence groups, the mean DBP for all included studies is with healthy levels (<90 mmHg).

This result suggests that higher adherence to MD may have a positive impact on SBP, but further research is needed because of the heterogeneous definition of low/high adherence and the type of studies used.