(08-04-06)Factor analysis identifies a Mediterranean-style pattern of dietary intake that is protective against diabetic retinopathy.

Brazionis L, Itsiopoulos C, Rowley K, O'dea K.

Dept Physiology, Monash University, VIC 3800.

Background - Factor (principal components) analysis of dietary intake identifies patterns of food consumption in populations, and may be a more useful (comprehensive and meaningful) approach to investigating a potential diet-disease link than conventional single nutrient analyses, particularly for diseases like diabetic retinopathy (the major cause of preventable blindness in the developed world) where there is no known specific relationship to diet. Objective - To identify the patterns of food consumption that may protect against the onset of diabetic retinopathy. Design - This cross-sectional study identified patterns of dietary intake in 407 men and women, mean age 64 years, about half with Type 2 diabetes and equally divided between Greek-born and Australian-born. Factor analysis, a data reduction technique, generated variables representing patterns of dietary intake from a list of the 121 foods in the food frequency questionnaire, administered at the clinical data-collection visit. Retinopathy was photo-documented and graded according to a validated protocol by one assessor, masked to other participant data. Outcomes - Of the identified 9 patterns of dietary intake, one pattern of food consumption was inversely associated with prevalent diabetic retinopathy, after adjusting for established retinopathy risk factors and confounders of dietary intake. This 'Very Greek" pattern of food intake correlated positively with the intake of, in order of importance, onions/leeks, olive oil, garlic, and feta cheese, and inversely with cream/ butter/margarine, and was also inversely associated with prevalent hypertriglyceridemia and hyperhomocysteinemia. Conclusions - Factor analysis identified a "Very Greek" Mediterranean-style pattern of dietary intake that was protective against diabetic retinopathy and may also be cardio-protective.

PMID: 16326553 [PubMed - in process]
Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2005;14 Suppl:S73.

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