Mediterranean diet could reduce risk of stroke by 25%, study finds

Stroke occurs more than 100,000 times per year in the UK and is one of the leading causes of death

Eating a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil, nuts, seafood, whole grains and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of all types of stroke among women, a 20-year-long study suggests.

The diet has long been linked to several health benefits, such as reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol, which are all risk factors for heart disease.

But until now, there has been limited evidence of how it might affect the risk of all forms of stroke, including ischemic stroke – when blood flow is blocked to part of the brain – and hemorrhagic stroke, caused by bleeding in the brain.

Stroke occurs more than 100,000 times per year in the UK and is one of the leading causes of death, responsible for 34,000 deaths annually.

The study, led by researchers in Greece and the US, shows an association between the diet and the reduced risk of stroke, in some cases by as much as 25 per cent. But it did not prove that the Mediterranean diet directly causes a lower risk of stroke.

A Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil, nuts, seafood, whole grains and vegetables could reduce the risk of stroke (Getty/iStock)

Study author Sophia Wang, of the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Centre in Duarte, California, said: “Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability, so it’s exciting to think that improving our diets could lessen our risk for this devastating disease.”

For the study, published in Neurology Open Access, a journal of the American Academy of Neurology, 105,614 women from California with an average age of 53 at the start of the study, who had no history of stroke, were recruited.

Participants filled out a questionnaire about their diet at the outset and were given a score of zero to nine, based on how closely they followed the Mediterranean diet.

They received points for consuming above the overall population average in specific categories, such as wholegrain cereals, fruits, vegetables, legumes, olive oil and fish, and if they drank a moderate amount of alcohol. Participants also received points for consuming a below-average amount of red meat and dairy products.

A total of 30 per cent of participants had scores of six to nine – the highest group. And 13 per cent had scores of zero to two, the lowest group.

The participants were followed for an average of 21 years. During that time, 4,083 strokes occurred, with 3,358 ischemic strokes and 725 hemorrhagic strokes.

When researchers adjusted for other factors that could affect stroke risk, such as smoking, physical activity and high blood pressure, they found that those in the highest group were 18 per cent less likely to have a stroke than those in the lowest group. They were 16 per cent less likely to have an ischemic stroke and 25 per cent less likely to have a hemorrhagic stroke.

“Our findings support the mounting evidence that a healthy diet is critical to stroke prevention,” Dr Wang said. “We were especially interested to see that this finding applies to hemorrhagic stroke, as few large studies have looked at this type of stroke.

“Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and to help us understand the mechanisms behind them so we could identify new ways to prevent stroke.”