Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28488692›Full record

SynthesisEuropean journal of clinical nutrition2018

Mediterranean diet and multiple health outcomes: an umbrella review of meta-analyses of observational studies and randomised trials.

M Dinu, G Pagliai, A Casini, F Sofi

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in European journal of clinical nutrition, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 502 papers, 19 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
502citing papers in PubMed, 19 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

502 citing papers in PubMed, 19 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  2. Sustainable dietary recommendations for the Spanish population.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2026
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  11. The effectiveness of the Mediterranean Diet for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease: An umbrella review.Nutrition & dietetics : the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia · 2025
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442 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

M DinuDepartment of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-1687-2527
G PagliaiDepartment of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
A CasiniDepartment of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
F SofiDepartment of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Research has shown that a greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with a reduced risk of major chronic disease. However, the existing literature leads to debate for different issues, such as the measurement of the adherence to the Mediterranean diet, the use of a wide variety of dietary indices with various food components and the large heterogeneity across the studies. In order to summarise the evidence and evaluate the validity of the association between the adherence to the Mediterranean diet and multiple health outcomes, an umbrella review of the evidence across meta-analyses of observational studies and randomised clinical trials (RCTs) was performed. Thirteen meta-analyses of observational studies and 16 meta-analyses of RCTs investigating the association between the adherence to the Mediterranean diet and 37 different health outcomes, for a total population of over than 12 800 000 subjects, were identified. A robust evidence, supported by a P-value<0.001, a large simple size, and not a considerable heterogeneity between studies, for a greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet and a reduced the risk of overall mortality, cardiovascular diseases, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, overall cancer incidence, neurodegenerative diseases and diabetes was found. For most of the site-specific cancers, as well as for inflammatory and metabolic parameters, the evidence was only suggestive or weak and further studies are needed to draw firmer conclusions. No evidence, on the other hand, was reported for bladder, endometrial and ovarian cancers, as well as for LDL (low density lipoprotein)-cholesterol levels.

Indexed as

Diet, MediterraneanEvidence-Based MedicinePatient ComplianceCardiovascular DiseasesCoronary DiseaseDiabetes MellitusHumansIncidenceMeta-Analysis as TopicMortalityMyocardial InfarctionNeoplasmsNeurodegenerative DiseasesObservational Studies as TopicRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicReproducibility of Results

Identifiers

PMID28488692

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.