Published July 12, 2022 | Version v1
Journal article Open

The Effect of Mediterranean Diet Compliance on COVID-19 Symptoms and Disease Severity

Creators

  • 1. Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Malatya Training and Research Hospital, Malatya, Türkiye.
  • 2. Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Malatya Training and Research Hospital, Malatya, Türkiye.
  • 3. Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Health of Health, Tokat Provincial Health Directorate, Tokat, Türkiye.
  • 4. Department of Public Health, Karabük University Faculty of Medicine, Karabük, Türkiye.
  • 5. Department of Internal Medicine, Malatya Training and Research Hospital, Malatya, Türkiye.

Description

Abstract

The aim of the research is to investigate the relationship between the adherence to a Mediterranean type of diet, which is an anti-inflammatory diet, and the degree of severity and symptoms of the disease in patients with COVID-19 infection. In the study, a short questionnaire form containing questions about demographic information, disease severity, and what symptoms they experienced was given to individuals who had previously had COVID-19 infection. The adaptation of individuals to the Mediterranean diet (MD) was evaluated with the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS). SPSS software program was used to analyze the effect of the MD on COVID-19 severity and symptoms. A total of 715 people, including 283 (39.6%) men and 432 (60.4%) women, were included in the study. It was determined that 33.7% (241/715) of the individuals had MD compliance, while 66.3% (474/715) did not have MD compliance. It was observed that 77.8% (556/715) of the individuals participating in the study had a mild recovery from the COVID-19 infection process. It was observed that thin and obese individuals had more difficulty recovering (p<0.05). The top 5 most common symptoms in COVID-19 patients were found to be as follows: fatigue-weakness (87%), low back-joint pain (76.4%), headache (70.5%), olfactory disorder (66%), and taste disorder (61%), respectively. No significant difference was found between adherence to a Mediterranean-type diet and COVID-19 severity and symptoms (p>0.05). In conclusion, no significant relationship was found between adherence to the MD and the severity of the COVID-19 infection. However, considering the effects of the Mediterranean-type diet, which is an anti-inflammatory diet, on obesity, it is thought that adherence to this diet will have a positive effect on decreasing the severity of COVID-19 transmission indirectly, if not directly.

Özet

Bu çalışmanın temel amacı anti-inflamatuar bir beslenme şekli olan Akdeniz tipi beslenme alışkanlığının COVID-19 enfeksiyonu geçiren hastalarda hastalık şiddeti ve semptomları ile ilişkisini araştırmaktır. Çalışmada, daha önce COVID-19 enfeksiyonu geçirmiş olan bireylere demografik bilgiler, hastalık şiddeti ve hangi semptomları yaşadıkları ile ilgili sorular içeren kısa bir anket formu uygulanmıştır. Bireylerin Akdeniz diyetine uyumu ise Akdeniz Diyetine Bağlılık Ölçeği (Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener, MEDAS) ile değerlendirilmiştir. Akdeniz tipi beslenmenin COVID-19 şiddeti ve semptomlarına etkisini analiz etmek için SPSS yazılım programı kullanılmıştır. Çalışmaya 283 erkek (%39.6) ve 432 (%60.4) kadın olmak üzere toplam 715 kişi dahil edildi. Bireylerin %33.7'sinin (241/715) MD uyumunun olduğu, %66.3'ünün (474/715) ise MD uyumunun olmadığı belirlendi. Çalışmaya katılan bireylerin %77.8’inin (556/715) COVID-19 enfeksiyon sürecini hafif atlattığı belirlendi. Zayıf ve obez olan bireylerin hastalığı daha ağır geçirdiği saptandı (p<0.05). COVID-19 hastalarında en fazla görülen ilk 5 semptomun sırasıyla; yorgunluk-halsizlik (%87), bel-eklem ağrısı (%76.4), baş ağrısı (%70.5), koku alma bozukluğu (%66) ve tat alma bozukluğu (%61) olduğu görüldü. Akdeniz tipi beslenme ile COVID-19 şiddeti ve semptomları arasında anlamlı bir sonuç bulunamadı (p>0.05). Sonuç olarak çalışmamızda, Akdeniz diyetine uyum ile COVID-19 enfeksiyonu hastalık şiddeti arasında anlamlı bir ilişki saptanmamıştır. Ancak, anti-inflamatuar bir beslenme şekli olan Akdeniz tipi beslenme alışkanlığının obezite üzerindeki etkileri de düşünüldüğünde, doğrudan olmasa bile dolaylı olarak COVID-19 geçirme şiddetine olumlu bir etkisi olacağı düşünülmektedir.

Notes

Akdeniz Diyetine Uyumun COVID-19 Semptomları ve Hastalık Şiddeti Üzerine Etkisi

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