Promoting the Mediterranean Diet in the Workplace: An Observational Cross-Sectional Study.

Background/

Objectives

The Mediterranean diet (MD) is a set of customs and eating habits developed in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea thousands of years ago. These habits are frequently proposed as a complement to pharmacological therapies for chronic diseases and could also counteract their onset. This study aimed to investigate adherence to the MD in workers from 22 companies in Latium (Italy) and to evaluate the association of diet with workers' health.

Methods

Workers undergoing their health surveillance examination and routine blood tests (total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose) were invited to fill in the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS), the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) questionnaire for work-related stress, the Sleep Condition Indicator (SCI) for sleep quality, the STOP-Bang questionnaire for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) risk, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12) for low mental health, and the Abdel-Khalek questionnaire (AKQ) for happiness. A total of 1475 out of 1608 workers (91.7%) participated in the study.

Results

The prevalence of high adherence to the MD was 53.8% (95% CI 51.3; 56.4). Female workers reported greater adherence to the MD than males (Mann-Whitney U, p < 0.001). MD adherence was positively correlated with age (Spearman's rho = 0.071, p < 0.01). Workers who had never smoked and those who engaged in physical activity during their leisure time showed significantly higher adherence (p < 0.001). In multiple logistic regression models adjusted for age, gender, smoking status, physical activity, night work, and occupational sector, the MEDAS score was inversely associated with hypertension [aOR = 0.922 (95% CI = 0.856; 0.994)], hypertriglyceridemia [aOR = 0.919 (95% CI = 0.844; 0.999)], and metabolic syndrome [aOR = 0.911 (95% CI = 0.831; 0.999)]. The MEDAS score was positively related to happiness [aOR = 1.074 (95% CI = 1.017; 1.134)].

Conclusions

Although the association between diet adherence and health is weak, the MD remains a useful measure for promoting health in the workplace.