Association between the Mediterranean diet and advanced glycation end products in students

Cilj istraživanja: Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati postoji li povezanost između mediteranske prehrane i razine krajnjih produkata glikacije u studenata Sveučilišta u Splitu. Materijali i metode: U ovom presječnom istraživanjem uključeno je 759 studenata koji pohađaju tri fakulteta Sveučilišta u Splitu. Istraživanje je provedeno na Medicinskom fakultetu na 5. i 6. godini studija (N=134), studiju sestrinstva i primaljstva pri Sveučilišnom odjelu zdravstvenih studija (N=125), te na Pomorskom fakultetu (N=500). Studenti su ispunjavali upitnik o životnim navikama. Prilikom ispunjavanja upitnika izmjerena im je krajnjih produkata glikacije (engl. Advanced Glycation End-products, AGEs) u koži podlaktice pomoću neinvazivnog uređaja AGE Reader (DiagnOptics, Groningen, Nizozemska). U kojoj mjeri se studenti pridržavaju principa mediteranske prehrane procijenili smo korištenjem indeksa mediteranske prehrane (engl. Mediterranean Diet Serving Score, MDSS). U analizi podataka korišten je hi-kvadrat test, Mann-whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis-ov test i Spearman-ov test rang korelacije. Rezultati: U ovom istraživanju nismo pokazali povezanost između izmjerene vrijednosti krajnjih produkata glikacije i mediteranske prehrane. Od 759 ispitanika, samo se 60 studenata pridržavalo principa mediteranske prehrane (7,9%). Pronašli smo statistički značajno nižu vrijednost AGEs-a u nepušača u odnosu na studente koji su bivši ili aktivni pušači (P<0,001). Također je uočena statistički značajna pozitivna korelacija između razine krajnjih produkata glikacije i dobi ispitanika (P<0,001) te negativna korelacija između razine krajnjih produkata glikacije i učestalosti doručkovanja (P=0,007) i samoprocjene zdravlja studenata (P=0,006). Zaključak: Studenti Sveučilišta u Splitu imali su jako nisku zastupljenost mediteranske prehrane. Stoga je potrebno provesti daljnja istraživanja na većem uzorku, kako bi se moglo utvrditi postoji li povezanost između razine krajnjih produkata glikacije u koži i mediteranske prehrane.Non communicable diseases, which are the major cause of morbidity and mortality in the 21st century, are mainly caused by unhealthy lifestyles. Mediterranean diet has been associated with lower all-cause mortality, and has a lot of health benefits, specifically in the prevention of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between advanced glycation end products measured in skin and adherence to the principals of the Mediterranean diet in students of the University of Split. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) accumulate over a person’s lifetime, but this process occurs more rapidly in people with unhealthy lifestyle habits and especially in patients with conditions such as diabetes, renal failure and cardiovascular disease. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study involved 759 students of the University of Split, including 134 medical students, 125 nursing and midwifery students and 500 maritime students. Students were asked to fill out a questionnaire on their habits, followed by non-invasive measurement of AGEs using the device AGE Reader, (Diagnoptics, Groningen, Netherlands). In order to examine the dietary habits of students, we used a score which estimates Mediterranean diet compliance (Mediterranean Diet Serving Score, MDSS). Results: In this study, we didn’t find a statistically significant association between the Mediterranean diet and level of advanced glycation end products in the skin. Of 759 students who participated in this study only 7.9% of students were following principals of the Mediterranean diet. Level of AGEs was statistically significantly lower in students who never smoked compared to students who are active smokers or who used to smoke before (P<0.001). There was statistically significant positive correlation between age and AGEs (P