Mediterranean diet and white blood cell count - A randomized controlled trial.

Abstract

We aimed to assess the effects of the antioxidant-rich Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) onwhite blood cell count. Our study population included participants in the PREvención con DIetaMEDiterránea study (average age 67 years old, 58% women, high cardiovascular risk). We assessedwhether a MedDiet intervention enriched in extra-virgin olive oil or nuts, versus a low-fat controldiet, modified the incidence of leukocytosis (>11×109leukocytes/L), mild leukopenia (<4.5×109leukocytes/L), or severe leukopenia (<3.5×109leukocytes/L) in individuals without the conditionat baseline (n= 3190,n= 2925, andn= 3190, respectively). We also examined whether MedDietmodified the association between leukocyte count alterations and all-cause mortality. Both MedDietinterventions were associated with a lower risk of developing leukopenia (incidence rates: 5.06%in control diet, 3.29% in MedDiet groups combined; hazard ratio [95% confidence interval]: 0.54[0.36-0.80]) and severe leukopenia (incidence rates: 1.26% in control diet, 0.46% in MedDiet groupscombined; hazard ratio: 0.25 [0.10-0.60]). High cumulative adherence to a MedDiet was linked tolower risk of leukocytosis (incidence rates: 2.08% in quartile 1, 0.65% in quartile 4; HRQ4-Q1: 0.29[0.085-0.99]) and attenuated the association between leukopenia and all-cause mortality (P-interaction= 0.032). In brief, MedDiet decreased the incidence of white blood cell count-related alterations inhigh cardiovascular risk individuals.