Anti-Inflammatory Effects of the Mediterranean Diet in the Early and Late Stages of Atheroma Plaque Development
Table 4
Baseline values and changes in the plasma concentrations of cytokines at 3 and 5 years of follow-up after a MeDiet+EVOO, MeDiet+nuts, or LFD intervention in subjects at high risk for cardiovascular disease.
Intervention group
Between-group changes
value for differences3
MeDiet+EVOO
MeDiet+nuts
LFD
MeDiet+EVOO versus LFD
MeDiet+EVOO versus MeDiet+nuts
MeDiet+nuts versus LFD
IL-1β, pg/mL
Baseline1
0.23 ± 0.23
0.16 ± 0.13
0.17 ± 0.15
3 y2
−0.10 (−0.18, −0.02)
−0.01 (−0.09, 0.07)
0.06 (−0.02, 0.14)
0.01
0.29
0.59
5 y2
−0.08 (−0.16, −0.01)
−0.07 (−0.14, −0.02),γ
0.03 (−0.05, 0.1)
0.02
1.00
0.06
IL-5, pg/mL
Baseline
0.51 ± 0.52
0.43 ± 0.39
0.41 ± 0.37
3 y
−0.22 (−0.38, −0.05)
−0.04 (−0.20, 0.13)
0.12 (−0.04, 0.29)
0.04
0.40
0.32
5 y
−0.25 (−0.43, −0.07),a
−0.17 (−0.33, −0.02),γ
0.14 (−0.01, 0.31)
0.03
1.00
0.02
IL-6, pg/mL
Baseline
1.16 ± 1.20
1.22 ± 0.92
0.79 ± 0.66
3 y
−0.40 (−0.79, −0.01)
−0.42 (−0.81, −0.04)
0.18 (−0.21, 0.57)
0.06
1.00
0.06
5 y
−0.45 (−0.90, −0.03)
−0.57 (−1.00, −0.13)
0.26 (−0.20, 0.71)
0.94
1.00
0.02
IL-7, pg/mL
Baseline
0.97 ± 0.77
0.88 ± 0.59
0.66 ± 0.46
3 y
−0.32 (−0.63, −0.01)
−0.12 (−0.41, 0.17)
0.18 (−0.12, 0.47)
0.02
0.97
0.23
5 y
−0.44 (−0.77, −0.12)
−0.36 (−0.66, −0.05),γ
0.31 (0.01, 0.62)
0.001
1.00
0.001
IL-8, pg/mL
Baseline
2.39 ± 2.04
2.18 ± 1.29
1.85 ± 1.42
3 y
−0.73 (−1.38, −0.07)
−0.66 (−1.31, −0.02)
0.53 (−0.15, 1.20)
0.02
1.00
0.04
5 y
−0.88 (−1.60, −0.19),a
−0.82 (−1.51, −0.12),a
0.73 (0.02, 1.45)
0.006
1.00
0.01
IL-12p70, pg/mL
Baseline
2.02 ± 1.94
1.42 ± 1.03
1.58 ± 2.7
3 y
−0.85 (−1.69, −0.01)
−0.32 (−1.15, 0.51)
−0.31 (−1.13, 0.51)
0.12
1.00
1.00
5 y
−0.78 (−1.55, −0.01)
−0.80 (−1.54, −0.06)
−0.29 (−1.05, 0.47)
0.37
1.00
0.39
TNF-α, pg/mL
Baseline
2.91 ± 2.91
2.47 ± 2.29
1.80 ± 1.76
3 y
−1.42 (−2.57, −0.27)
−0.44 (−1.49, 0.61)
0.59 (−0.48, 1.66)
0.01
0.56
0.31
5 y
−1.57 (−2.80, −0.33)
−1.16 (−2.32, −0.01)
0.61 (−0.58, 1.80)
0.03
1.00
0.77
IFN-γ, pg/mL
Baseline
14.4 ± 9.1
12.7 ± 11.1
9.0 ± 6.9
3 y
−4.1 (−8.3, −0.01)
−1.4 (−5.4, 2.7)
2.1 (−2.0, 6.3)
0.05
0.74
0.60
5 y
−6.2 (−11.1, −1.3)
−5.3 (−10.0, −0.6)
3.2 (−1.7, 8.1)
0.02
1.00
0.03
1Values are means ± SDs, n = 22 unless expressed otherwise. 2Mean differences (95% CI). : different from baseline, (). γ: different from 3 and 5 y of intervention (). 3 value: significant differences () in changes between groups. aMeDiet+EVOO versus MeDiet+nuts are significantly different, . EVOO: extra virgin olive oil; LFD: low-fat diet; MeDiet+EVOO: Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra virgin olive oil; MeDiet+nuts: Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts.
