Nordic diet, Mediterranean diet, and the risk of chronic diseases: the EPIC-Potsdam study

Abstract

The EPIC-Potsdam (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Potsdam) cohort presents a suitable frame for the evaluation of the possible beneficial effects of these two regional diets on the onset of major chronic diseases in both non-Mediterranean and non-Nordic populations. [...]we aimed to evaluate the association between the Nordic diet and the MedDiet with the risk of major chronic diseases (T2D, myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and cancer) in the EPIC-Potsdam population. [...]diagnoses were found by record linkages with the Common Cancer registry of the different Federal States [32]. [...]all potential incident cases were verified by contacting physicians, local cancer registries, and information of death certificates. [...]misreporting is a common problem, which could lead to measurement error and bias in the estimations. [...]diet and other lifestyle factors were only assessed at baseline, and possible changes have not been taken into account. [...]possible beneficial effects cannot be completely ruled out due to limited power to evaluate associations and the possibility of cancer site-specific effects. [...]re-analysis of the associations in our cohort after extended follow-up would include a higher number of incident cases and provide further information.