TY - JOUR
T1 - Eating habits in the population of the Aeolian Islands
T2 - An observational study
AU - La Spina, Paolo
AU - Savica, Rodolfo
AU - Ciacciarelli, Antonio
AU - Cotroneo, Masina
AU - Dell'Aera, Cristina
AU - Grillo, Francesco
AU - Casella, Carmela
AU - Fazio, Maria Carolina
AU - Trimarchi, Giuseppe
AU - Musolino, Rosa Fortunata
N1 - Funding Information:
Financial support: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or notfor- profit sectors. Conflict of interest: None. Authorship: P.L.S., R.S. and R.F.M. contributed to the study design. M.C., C.D.A., F.G., A.C., C.C. and M.C.F. performed data collection. R.S. and G.T. analysed the data. P.L.S., R.S., A.C. and R.F.M. wrote the article. Ethics of human subject participation: This study was conducted according to the guidelines laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki, and all procedures involving human subjects were approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Messina. Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Authors.
PY - 2019/6/1
Y1 - 2019/6/1
N2 - Objective We conducted a study to describe food profile, health status and stroke risk factors in the population of the Aeolian Islands.Design Self-administrated questionnaires regarding eating habits, health status and stroke risk factors were obtained from a sample of the general Aeolian population. We analysed the difference from common healthy eating habits indicated by the Italian Institute of Nutrition.Setting Current evidence finds the Mediterranean diet is a protective factor for cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases. The Aeolian Islands are an interesting study setting because of their peculiarity in the epidemiology of cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative diseases.Participants Individuals (n 586; age range 15-93 years; mean 52 (sd 18) years) living in the Aeolian Islands.Results We found low fish consumption in 13·3% and vitamin intake deficiency in 5·8% of participants. A marked excess of saturated fats was observed in 71·0% of participants. Sodium excess was reported almost in half of participants (49·0%). Eating habits were characterized by high consumption of fruits and vegetables, consistent use of olive oil and scanty use of cured meat. Health status as evaluated by the General Health Questionnaire was characterized by 'normal distress' level in the majority of participants.Conclusions Study findings show the eating habits and health status of the Aeolian people in an interesting setting of low incidence of cerebrovascular disease. This nutrition regimen has been proved to be protective against cerebrovascular disease. Nutrition is likely to contribute to the low incidence of stroke in this population.
AB - Objective We conducted a study to describe food profile, health status and stroke risk factors in the population of the Aeolian Islands.Design Self-administrated questionnaires regarding eating habits, health status and stroke risk factors were obtained from a sample of the general Aeolian population. We analysed the difference from common healthy eating habits indicated by the Italian Institute of Nutrition.Setting Current evidence finds the Mediterranean diet is a protective factor for cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases. The Aeolian Islands are an interesting study setting because of their peculiarity in the epidemiology of cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative diseases.Participants Individuals (n 586; age range 15-93 years; mean 52 (sd 18) years) living in the Aeolian Islands.Results We found low fish consumption in 13·3% and vitamin intake deficiency in 5·8% of participants. A marked excess of saturated fats was observed in 71·0% of participants. Sodium excess was reported almost in half of participants (49·0%). Eating habits were characterized by high consumption of fruits and vegetables, consistent use of olive oil and scanty use of cured meat. Health status as evaluated by the General Health Questionnaire was characterized by 'normal distress' level in the majority of participants.Conclusions Study findings show the eating habits and health status of the Aeolian people in an interesting setting of low incidence of cerebrovascular disease. This nutrition regimen has been proved to be protective against cerebrovascular disease. Nutrition is likely to contribute to the low incidence of stroke in this population.
KW - Aeolian Islands
KW - Cerebrovascular diseases
KW - Health status
KW - Mediterranean diet
KW - Nutrition
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U2 - 10.1017/S1368980018003397
DO - 10.1017/S1368980018003397
M3 - Article
C2 - 30585144
AN - SCOPUS:85065082556
SN - 1368-9800
VL - 22
SP - 1590
EP - 1596
JO - Public health nutrition
JF - Public health nutrition
IS - 9
ER -