A Mediterranean lifestyle reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in the "Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra" (SUN) cohort.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: A healthy lifestyle is essential to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, beyond dietary habits, there is a scarcity of studies comprehensively assessing the typical traditional Mediterranean lifestyle with a multi-dimensional index. We assessed the association between the Mediterranean lifestyle (measured with the MEDLIFE index including diet, physical activity, and other lifestyle factors) and the incidence of CVD. METHODS AND RESULTS: The "Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra" (SUN) project is a prospective, dynamic and multipurpose cohort of Spanish university graduates. We calculated a MEDLIFE score, composed of 28 items on food consumption, dietary habits, physical activity, rest, social habits, and conviviality, for 18,631 participants by assigning 1 point for each typical Mediterranean lifestyle factor achieved, for a theoretically possible final score ranging from 0 to 28 points. During an average follow-up of 11.5 years, 172 CVD cases (myocardial infarction, stroke or cardiovascular death) were observed. An inverse association between the MEDLIFE score and the risk of primary cardiovascular events was observed, with multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 0.50; (95% confidence interval, 0.31-0.81) for the highest MEDLIFE scores (14-23 points) compared to the lowest scores (0-9 points), p (trend) = 0.004. CONCLUSION: A higher level of adherence to the Mediterranean lifestyle was significantly associated with a lower risk of CVD in a Spanish cohort. Public health strategies should promote the Mediterranean lifestyle to preserve cardiovascular health.

Implementation of a Mindfulness-Based Crisis Intervention for Frontline Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Outbreak in a Public General Hospital in Madrid, Spain.

Introduction: The COVID-19 outbreak is having an impact on the well-being of healthcare workers. Mindfulness-based interventions have shown effectiveness in reducing stress and fostering resilience and recovery in healthcare workers. There are no studies examining the feasibility of brief mindfulness-based interventions during the COVID-19 outbreak. Materials and Methods: This is an exploratory study with a post intervention assessment. We describe an on-site brief mindfulness intervention and evaluate its helpfulness, safety, and feasibility. Results: One thousand out of 7,000 (14%) healthcare workers from La Paz University Hospital in Madrid (Spain) participated in at least one session. One hundred and fifty out of 1,000 (15%) participants filled out a self-report questionnaire evaluating the helpfulness of the intervention for on-site stress reduction. Ninety two subjects (61%) participated in more than one session. Most of the participants were women (80%) with a mean age of 38.6 years. Almost half of the sample were nurses (46%). Sessions were perceived as being helpful with a mean rating of 8.4 on a scale from 0 to 10. Only 3 people (2%) reported a minor adverse effect (increased anxiety or dizziness). Discussion: Our data supports the utility, safety and feasibility of an on-site, brief mindfulness-based intervention designed to reduce stress for frontline health workers during a crisis. There is a need to continue testing this type of interventions, and to integrate emotion regulation strategies as an essential part of health workers' general training. Clinical Trial Registration number: NCT04555005.