Adherence to the Mediterranean diet and its related factors in elderly women in Shiraz

The Mediterranean diet plays an essential role in maintaining older adults’ health and their quality of life (QOL). However, the older adults living in countries outside of the Mediterranean region face difficulties in adhering to the diet. This study aimed to investigate Mediterranean diet adherence and related factors among older women.

This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 130 older women living in Shiraz in 2019. Samples were selected by two-stage cluster sampling from comprehensive health centers. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a demographic information questionnaire, Mediterranean diet adherence questionnaire, Lipad quality of life questionnaire, and two researcher-made questionnaires on nutritional attitude and nutritional knowledge. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 25 at a significance level of 0.05.

The mean age of the elderly in the present study was 63.95 ± 3.44. According to the results, 19.2% of participants had low adherence, 66.2% had moderate adherence, and 14.6% had high adherence to the Mediterranean diet. There was a significant negative correlation between adherence to the Mediterranean diet with age (r = - 0.24, p <0.01), and diastolic blood pressure (r = - 0.31, p <0.05) and showed a significant positive correlation with education (r = 0.20, p <0.05) and QOL (r = 0.34, p <0.001).

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet in Iranian women elderly was not at a desirable level. In addition, adherence to the Mediterranean diet was correlated with the QOL of the older adults, so interventions are needed that increase adherence to the Mediterranean diet to improve the quality of life of Iranian women elderly.