Association between modified mediterranean diet score and menopause-specific quality of life and symptoms: A cross-sectional study

The modified Mediterranean diet score and menopausal symptoms

This research article explores the relationship between dietary habits, specifically the modified Mediterranean diet score (mMDS), and the alleviation of menopausal symptoms in postmenopausal women. A total of 149 women aged 40 and above, who had not experienced menstruation for at least 12 months, participated in a cross-sectional study conducted from June 2021 to June 2022. Data collection was performed using a 117-item food frequency questionnaire to assess dietary intake over the preceding year. Findings indicated that higher mMDS correlates significantly with reduced severity of sexual and vasomotor symptoms when comparing the highest tertile to the lowest. Furthermore, the mMDS demonstrated exceptional discriminative ability in identifying women with severe to moderate poor quality of life, alongside notable AUC values for vasomotor, psychological, physical, and sexual symptoms. Overall, the results suggest that adherence to a Mediterranean diet may play a beneficial role in managing menopausal symptoms, particularly vasomotor symptoms. However, the authors call for further extensive research to establish definitive dietary guidelines for this population.

Year: 2025

Reference: Haghshenas, N., Ghoreishy, S. M., Noormohammadi, M., Hosseini-Baharanchi, F. S., & Shidfar, F. (2025). Association between modified Mediterranean diet score and menopause-specific quality of life and symptoms: A cross-sectional study. Scientific Reports, 15(1), Article 17578. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-17578-x