We saw no independent association between the "Western" dietary pattern and preterm delivery, indicating that low adherence to a prudent pattern is a stronger indicator of unhealthy dietary behaviour than intake of processed food, fast food, junk food, and snacks.
While Velie et al. [ 12] found that a vegetable-fish/poultry-fruit diet pattern was not significantly correlated with BC, Ronco et al. [ 26] found that adherence to a food pattern rich in anti-oxidants - associated with white meat, fruit, vegetables - was protective in a study carried out in Uruguay.
Well established health benefits associated with greater adherence to a Mediterranean Diet pattern include: lower risks of "metabolic syndrome" (an important risk factor/precursor of diabetes and heart disease), reduced risks for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, and dementia; as well as greater longevity and well-being.
Minor C allele carriers showed a lower adherence to a Mediterranean Diet pattern than non-carriers (Table 2).
It is possible that greater adherence to a Western pattern during adolescence increases risk of T2DM in adulthood via a cumulative effect on physiological processes underlying disease development.
Our results suggest that adherence to a diet pattern rich in vegetables, fish, legumes and olive oil may favorably influence the risk of breast cancer.
For example, Gu and colleagues [ 10] showed that adherence to a MedDiet pattern reduced inflammation markers C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and interleukin-6 levels.
30 31 The Alternative Healthy Eating Index measures adherence to a dietary pattern based on foods and nutrients most predictive of risk for chronic disease in the literature.
In conclusion, our results suggest that adherence to a diet pattern rich in vegetables, fish, legumes and olive oil may favorably influence the risk of BC by having a protective effect.
The third index, the DASH score, measures adherence to a dietary pattern that was rich in fruits, vegetables, wholegrain, legumes and low-fat dairy products and reduced intake of red/processed meat, sweets and sodium.
