AUTHOR=Zargarzadeh Nikan , Tadbir Vajargah Kiana , Ebrahimzadeh Armin , Mousavi Seyed Mohammad , Khodaveisi Hamidreza , Akhgarjand Camellia , Toyos Fernando M. P. , Cerqueira Henrique S. , Santos Heitor O. , Taghizadeh Mohsen , Milajerdi Alireza TITLE=Higher Adherence to the Mediterranean Dietary Pattern Is Inversely Associated With Severity of COVID-19 and Related Symptoms: A Cross-Sectional Study JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine VOLUME=9 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2022.911273 DOI=10.3389/fmed.2022.911273 ISSN=2296-858X ABSTRACT=Background and Aims

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) has been associated with a decreased risk of developing a variety of chronic diseases that are comorbidities in COVID-19 patients. However, its association to the severity and symptoms of COVID-19 are still unknown. This study aimed to examine the association between adherence to the MD pattern and COVID-19 severity and symptoms in Iranian hospitalized patients.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, 250 COVID-19 patients aged 18 to 65 were examined. We employed a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to obtain data on dietary intake of participants in the year prior to their COVID-19 diagnosis. COVID-19 severity was determined using the National Institutes of Health's Coronavirus Disease 2019 report. Additionally, symptoms associated with COVID-19, inflammatory markers, and other variables were evaluated. The scoring method proposed by Trichopoulou et al. was used to assess adherence to the MD.

Results

The participants' mean age was 44.1 ± 12.1 years, and 46% of them had severe COVID-19. Patients who adhered more closely to the MD had lower serum C-reactive protein levels (7.80 vs. 37.36 mg/l) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (14.08 vs. 42.65 mm/h). Those with the highest MD score were 77% less likely to have severe COVID-19 after controlling for confounding variables. The MD score was also found to be inversely associated with COVID-19 symptoms, including dyspnea, cough, fever, chills, weakness, myalgia, nausea and vomiting, and sore throat.

Conclusion

Higher adherence to the MD was associated with a decreased likelihood of COVID-19 severity and symptoms, as well as a shorter duration of hospitalization and convalescence, and inflammatory biomarkers.