ADHERENCE TO THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET IN PATIENTS WITH HIGH CARDIOVASCULAR RISK

Introduction. Recommendations for the use of the Mediterranean diet apply to many nosologies, which made it expedient to consider the principles of such nutrition and adherence to it for patients with high cardiovascular risk. Objectives. In order to evaluate the nature of the diet of patients with high cardiovascular risk and their adherence to the Mediterranean diet, the principles of the diet were described according to the data from the Pubmed database. Adherence to and compliance with the principles of Mediterranean diet in patients with high cardiovascular risk were determined according to the Food Questionnaire in 29 outpatients with stable chronic forms of coronary heart disease and arterial hypertension: 18 men, 11 women aged 55.72±2.59 years with excessive body weight; the results were processed by the methods of variational statistics. Results. The Mediterranean diet is recommended for patients with high cardiovascular risk, excess body weight, steatotic liver disease, inflammatory bowel diseases, autoimmune changes in the thyroid gland, dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and oncological processes. It is based on grains, cereals, vegetables and fruits, beans, nuts, and seeds; a small amount of meat, eggs, fish, and poultry; olive oil and moderate daily consumption of cheeses and yogurts. According to the Food Questionnaire, patients with a high cardiovascular risk are not sufficiently aware of the principles of this diet, do not fully follow the recommendations for replacing fats with extra virgin olive oil, do not consume enough fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grain pasta and hard cereals. In addition, they tend to consume meat, soft cereals, ordinary types of bread and pasta, sweets, carbonated beverages, beer, and spirits in excessive amounts or too often. Conclusions. Insufficient awareness and non-adherence to the Mediterranean diet require the activation of educational work to deepen knowledge about its principles and details.