Abstract:

Background. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer mortality rates in Eastern European countries are among the highest in the world. Although unhealthy diet is an important risk factor, traditional eating habits and their health effects in this region have not yet been explored. This analysis assessed the relationship between traditional dietary pattern and mortality from all-causes, CVD and cancer in Eastern European population-based cohorts.

Methods. The traditional Eastern European diet was characterised based on dietary habits of rural communities who lived in the 1950s and 60s. Data from the Health, Alcohol and Psychosocial factors in Eastern Europe multi-centre prospective cohort study was used to assess the relationship between the traditional Eastern European diet score and mortality outcomes.

Results. In multivariable adjusted models, participants with high adherence to the traditional Eastern European diet had significantly higher risk of all-cause (HR 1.20; 95% CI 1.05-1.38) and CVD deaths (1.32; 1.05-1.64) compared to those with low adherence. The association with cancer mortality was not significant (1.12; 0.90-1.40).

Conclusion. Our results suggest that traditional eating habits may contribute to the poor health status, particularly the high CVD mortality rates, of populations in Eastern Europe. Adequate public health nutritional interventions in this region are essential.

Biography:

Denes Stefler is a medical doctor and nutritional epidemiologist. He completed his PhD in epidemiology at University College London in 2016.

His research focuses on the relationship between dietary habits and chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, with a particular interest in Eastern European populations. In his current and previous works, he has been examining the differences in health status between Eastern and Western European countries, as well as disease variations within Eastern Europe. The main aim of his research is to find those contributing factors, including social characteristics and lifestyle habits, which could explain why people in Eastern Europe have lower life expectancy and worse health than Western European counterparts.