ABSTRACT
Background. Numerous studies have demonstrated beneficial effects of adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) on many chronic diseases, including chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Objective. The aim of this study was to assess the adherence of a rural population to the Mediterranean diet, to identify the sociodemographic and lifestyle determinants and to analyze the association between adherence to MD and CKD.
Material and Methods. In a cross-sectional study, data on sociodemographic, lifestyle factors, clinical, biochemical parameters and diet were collected on a sample of 154 subjects. Adherence to MD was assessed according to a simplified MD score based on the daily frequency of intake of eight food groups (vegetables, legumes, fruits, cereal or potatoes, fish, red meat, dairy products and MUFA/SFA), using the sex specific sample medians as cut-offs. A value of 0 or 1 was assigned to consumption of each component according to its presumed detrimental or beneficial effect on health.
Results. According to the simplified MD score, the study data show that high adherence (44.2%) to MD was characterized by intakes high in vegetables, fruits, fish, cereals, olive oil, and low in meat and moderate in dairy. Furthermore, several factors such as age, marital status, education level, and hypertension status were associated with the adherence to MD in the study population. The majority of subjects with CKD have poor adherence to the MD compared to non-CKD with a statistically insignificant difference.
Conclusions. In Morocco, maintaining the traditional MD pattern play crucial role for public health. More research is needed in this area to precisely measure this association.