Mediterranean Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism - Volume 15, issue 2

Authors: Sbert, Pere Riutord | López González, Ángel Arturo | Fe, Bartomeu Riutord | Fe, Neus Riutord | Bote, Sebastiana Arroyo | Manent, José Ignacio Ramírez

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in the world. There are several risk factors for CVD, many of which are preventable, including sedentary lifestyles and poor diet. OBJECTIVE: To assess the influence of physical activity, adherence to the Mediterranean diet and sociodemographic variables such as age, sex and social class on the values of different cardiovascular risk scales. METHODS: A descriptive, cross-sectional study in 1584 Spanish workers in which the influence of different sociodemographic variables (age, sex, social class) and healthy habits (tobacco consumption, physical activity …assessed with the IPAQ questionnaire, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet) on the values of different cardiovascular risk (CVR) scales (REGICOR, SCORE, DORICA, ERICE, heart age, and vascular age) was assessed. RESULTS: All the CVR scales showed better mean values as the level of physical activity increased, something similar occurring with the prevalence of altered values, in both sexes. High adherence to the Mediterranean diet also improved the mean values and prevalence of altered values in men and women. CONCLUSION: The Mediterranean diet and physical exercise decrease the probability of suffering a cardiovascular event and improve all the CVR scales analyzed in this study. Show more

Keywords: Cardiovascular disease, physical activity, Mediterranean diet

DOI: 10.3233/MNM-211537

Citation: Mediterranean Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 273-284, 2022

Authors: Michou, Maria | Costarelli, Vassiliki

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Having comprehensive and validated tools to effectively measure levels of Health Literacy (HL) in the general population is of great importance, since HL levels appear to be a crucial determinant of the population’s overall health. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to validate the Greek version of the HLS_EU_Q16 questionnaire. METHODS: A total of 496 participants (81.8% women) participated in a self-administrated online, cross-sectional survey. The participants had to concurrently complete the Greek Version of HLS_EU_Q16 and the New Vital Sign (NVS). Certain socioeconomic and anthropometric characteristics were also assessed. For test-retest reliability, 149 …of the participants completed the questionnaire twice within a 15-day period. Principal Component Analysis, Cronbach’s a Spearman’s rho were used. RESULTS: All 3 factors assessed by the tool: “Health Care”, “Disease Prevention” and “Health Promotion”, had eigenvalues greater than 1. The Cronbach’s a was 0.884, for the total score of the HLS_EU_Q16 and 0.790, 0.710 and 0.800, for the above 3 subscales, respectively. Finally, test–retest reliability, after 15 days for the HLS_EU_Q16, resulted in Spearman’s correlation coefficient of r  = 0.628 (p  < 0.0001) which show a high correlation. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that the HLS_EU_Q16 is a reliable and valid tool for assessing HL in the Greek population. Show more

Keywords: Health literacy, HLS_EU_Q16, validation, greek

DOI: 10.3233/MNM-211538

Citation: Mediterranean Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 285-294, 2022