Table 4. Changes in the expression of circulating markers of plaque instability and other inflammatory biomarkers.
| MD+EVOO (n = 55) | MD+Nuts (n = 55) | Low-fat diet (n = 54) | ||||||
| Mean | P3 | Mean | P3 | Mean | P3 | Pint 4 | ||
| sVCAM (ng/mL) | Baseline1 | 872±47.0 | 935±49.2 | 776±48.6 | 0.30 | |||
| 1y.1 | 734±44.9 | 727±47.1 | 720±46.5 | |||||
| Mean changes2 | −138 (−251 to −25.2) | 0.02 | −208 (−327 to −89.6) | 0.001 | −55.6 (−173 to 61.5) | 0.35 | ||
| sICAM (ng/mL) | Baseline | 437±27.3 | 394±23.3 | 369±24.0 | 0.04 | |||
| 1y. | 217±22.0 | 364±18.8 | 431±19.2 | |||||
| Mean changes | −220 (−273 to −166)b | <0.001 | −30.3 (−76.1 to 15.5)b | 0.20 | 62.3 (15.5 to 109)b | 0.01 | ||
| sE-SEL (ng/mL) | Baseline | 28.6±2.5 | 33.0±2.6 | 32.3±2.6 | 0.55 | |||
| 1y. | 26.9±2.4 | 28.3±2.5 | 30.1±2.5 | |||||
| Mean changes | −1.7 (−4.5 to 1.2) | 0.26 | −4.7 (−7.7 to −1.7) | 0.003 | −2.2 (−5.3 to 0.9) | 0.16 | ||
| sP-SEL (ng/mL) | Baseline | 91.4±9.3 | 87.6±9.4 | 50.0±10.5 | 0.04 | |||
| 1y. | 66.5±8.3 | 70.8±8.4 | 51.1±9.3 | |||||
| Mean changes | −25.0 (−32.3 to −17.6)a | <0.001 | −16.8 (−24.3 to −9.4)a | <0.001 | 1.1 (−7.1 to 9.4) | 0.78 | ||
| IL-6 (pg/mL) | Baseline | 0.7±0.1 | 0.9±0.1 | 0.7±0.1 | 0.04 | |||
| 1y. | 0.4±0.1 | 0.5±0.1 | 1.0±0.1 | |||||
| Mean changes | −0.3 (−0.9 to 0.3)a | <0.001 | −0.4 (−1.0 to 0.2)a | <0.001 | 0.3 (−1.1 to 1.7) | <0.001 | ||
| CRP (mg/mL) | Baseline | 3.8±1.1 | 3.5±1.1 | 3.6±1.1 | 0.04 | |||
| 1y. | 1.9±1.1 | 2.1±1.1 | 3.3±1.1 | |||||
| Mean changes | −1.9 (−2.4 to −1.6)a | <0.001 | −1.4 (−2.1 to −0.7)a | <0.001 | −0.3 (−1.3 to 0.8) | 0.46 | ||
| IL-18 (pg/mL) | Baseline | 139±14.3 | 131±14.5 | 103±14.6 | 0.18 | |||
| 1y. | 137±13.1 | 112±13.2 | 101±13.4 | |||||
| Mean changes | −1.8 (−13.8 to 10.2) | 0.76 | −18.6 (6.4 to 30.7) | 0.003 | −1.3 (−13.5 to 11.0) | 0.84 | ||
| IL-10 (pg/mL) | Baseline | 1.4±1.1 | 1.3±1.1 | 1.2±1.1 | 0.40 | |||
| 1y. | 1.5±1.1 | 1.4±1.1 | 1.3±1.1 | |||||
| Mean changes | 0.05 (−0.2 to 0.3) | 0.62 | 0.05 (−0.2 to 0.3) | 0.60 | 0.1 (−0.1 to 0.3) | 0.29 | ||
| IL-18/IL-10 ratio | Baseline | 31.9±4.0 | 17.0±4.1 | 20.6±4.0 | 0.02 | |||
| 1y. | 17.2±3.4 | 7.9±3.5 | 19.0±3.4 | |||||
| Mean changes | −14.7 (−23.1 to −6.2) | 0.001 | −9.1 (−18.0 to −0.3) | 0.04 | −1.6 (−10.1 to 6.9) | 0.71 | ||
| MMP-9 (ng/mL) | Baseline | 7.7±1.2 | 7.9±1.2 | 6.2±1.2 | 0.78 | |||
| 1y. | 10.0±1.2 | 10.4±1.2 | 10.5±1.2 | |||||
| Mean changes | 2.3 (0.9 to 3.8) | 0.13 | 2.5 (1.1 to 3.8) | 0.11 | 4.3 (1.2 to 7.3) | 0.003 | ||
| TIMP-1 (ng/mL) | Baseline | 143±6.7 | 146±7.3 | 144±7.2 | 0.94 | |||
| 1y. | 146±7.4 | 144±8.2 | 152±8.2 | |||||
| Mean changes | 2.7 (−8.7 to 14.0) | 0.64 | −2.4 (−14.9 to 10.1) | 0.71 | 7.5 (−4.7 to 19.8) | 0.23 | ||
| MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio | Baseline | 0.06±1.2 | 0.06±1.2 | 0.04±1.2 | 0.60 | |||
| 1y. | 0.08±1.2 | 0.08±1.2 | 0.07±1.2 | |||||
| Mean changes | 0.02 (0.01 to 0.03) | 0.125 | 0.02 (0.01 to 0.03) | 0.15 | 0.03 (0.01 to 0.06) | 0.03 | ||
| TGF-β1 (pg/mL) | Baseline | 40.2±2.3 | 46.7±2.4 | 43.0±2.5 | 0.11 | |||
| 1y. | 44.5±2.1 | 49.3±2.2 | 49.0±2.3 | |||||
| Mean changes | 4.3 (−0.4 to 9.0) | 0.08 | 2.6 (−2.2 to 7.5) | 0.30 | 5.9 (0.9 to 11.0) | 0.02 | ||
Data analyzed by repeated-measures 2-factor ANOVA (simple-effect analysis by Bonferroni’s multiple contrast).
1
Values are mean ± SD.
2
Mean differences (95% CI).
3
P: Significant differences (P<0.05) between before and after the intervention.
4
Pint: comparison between measures obtained before and after intervention and among the 3 diet groups, P<0.05.
a
MD+EVOO or MD+nuts vs. low fat-diet are significantly different, P<0.05.
b
All the groups differed, P<0.05. EVOO, extra virgin olive oil; MD+EVOO, Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra virgin olive oil; MD+Nuts, Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts.