Regular Article PLATELETS AND THROMBOPOIESIS Adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with lower platelet and leukocyte counts: results from the Moli-sani study

• Adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with reduced platelet and leukocyte counts. • The observed associations are partially explained by the high dietary fiber and antioxidant content of the Mediterranean diet. Platelet (PLT) and white blood cell (WBC) counts are 2 markers of inflammation and have been linked to the risk for cerebrovascular and coronary heart disease. A Mediterranean diet (MD) has been associatedwith reduced inflammation andmortality formajor chronic diseases.We aimed at evaluating the association between theMDandbothPLT andWBC counts. This cross-sectional analysis in a population-based cohort study included14 586 healthy Italian citizens enrolled within the Moli-sani study. Adherence to MD was appraised by either the MD Score (MDS) or the Italian Mediterranean Index (IMI). PLT and WBC counts were both inversely related to MD adherence (MDS: P < .0001 and P 5 .008, respectively). As compared with those with poorer MD adherence, subjects with greater adherence had both reduced odds of being in the highest PLT-count group (MDS: odds ratio 5 0.50; 95% confidence interval, 0.31-0.80) and increased odds of being in the lowestWBC-count group (IMI: odds ratio5 1.41; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.86). The association between WBC count and MDS disappeared when further adjusted for PLT count,whereas theassociationbetweenPLTcountand theMDwasnotaffectedbyadjustment forWBCs.Foodantioxidantanddietary fiber content modified the inverse association between MDS and WBC count and partially accounted for the association with PLTs. (Blood. 2014;123(19):3037-3044)