Table 1.

Studies that compare the effects of both diets on human health.

Name of the study	Objective	Method	Results
The EPIC-Potsdam study (a prospective cohort based in Germany as part of the European-wide multicenter EPIC study)	The aim was to investigate the association between the ND and the MD with the risk of chronic diseases (type 2 diabetes (T2D), myocardial infarction (MI)	27,548 participants were recruited between 1994 and 1998. After exclusion of prevalent cases, baseline adherence to the diet score was evaluated, with application of Cox regression models to examine the association between the diet scores and the incidence of major chronic diseases	The ND showed a statistically non-significant inverse association with incidence of MI in the overall population and of stroke in men. Adherence to the MD was associated with lower incidence of T2D. In women, the MD score was also inversely associated with MI. No association was observed for any of the scores with cancer
PopGen CRC survivor cohort (prospective cohort study in Northern Germany)	Aim was to investigate the association of the two diets with all-cause mortality in long-term CRC survivors	Diet was assessed at a median time of 6 y after cancer diagnosis in 1,404 CRC survivors (median age: 69 y; 56% men) by using a semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire. Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess associations of the diets with all-cause mortality	In multivariable-adjusted models, higher adherence to the MD was significantly associated with lower all-cause mortality. Similarly, the ND was inversely associated with all-cause mortality (when the highest was compared with the lowest index quartile) and when modeled as a continuous trait
The Helsinki Birth Cohort Study	Aim was to assess the association of the ND and the MD with incident disability with a follow-up of 10 years	962 home-dwelling men and women, mean age 61.6 years, who were free of disability at baseline, participated in a clinical examination	The likelihood of having mobility limitations and difficulties in self-care activities were lower among those who had better adherence to the ND. Greater adherence to MD was associated with a lower disability incidence (however, the association was not statistically significant)
The Swedish Mammography Cohort	The combined effect of the two diet scores and association with all-cause and cause-specific mortality (cancer, CVD and ischemic heart disease)	The study included 38,428 women (median age of 61 years) where diet and covariate data were collected in a questionnaire	Higher adherence to MD was associated with lower mortality and compared with ND, was more strongly associated with a lower cause-specific mortality. Both MD and ND were inversely associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Cancer mortality was not independently associated with ND, whereas higher adherence to the MD was associated with lower cancer mortality