Overall Diet History and Reversibility of the Metabolic Syndrome Over 5 Years: The Whitehall II prospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE: We examined the impact of adherence to the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), a set of dietary guidelines targeting major chronic diseases, on metabolic syndrome (MetS) reversion in a middle-aged population. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Analyses were carried out on the 339 participants (28% women, mean age 56.4 years) from the Whitehall II study with MetS as defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. Reversion was defined as not having MetS after 5 years of follow-up (158 case subjects). RESULTS: After controlling for potential confounders, adherence to AHEI was associated with MetS reversion (odds ratio 1.88 [95% CI 1.04–3.41]), predominantly in participants with central obesity and in those with high triglyceride. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the benefit of adherence to AHEI dietary guidelines for individuals with MetS, especially those with central obesity or high triglyceride levels.