Neurology

Mediterranean diet tied to lower stroke risk in women

February 9, 2026

This prospective analysis from the California Teachers Study evaluated whether adherence to a Mediterranean diet (MeDi) was associated with incident stroke among 105,614 women followed for an average of 20.5 years. MeDi adherence was assessed at baseline (score 0–9). During follow-up, 4,083 strokes occurred (3,358 ischemic; 725 hemorrhagic). In fully adjusted Cox models, participants with MeDi scores of 6–9 had a lower risk of total stroke (hazard ratio [HR], 0.82, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.74–0.92), ischemic stroke (HR, 0.84, 95% CI, 0.75–0.95), and hemorrhagic stroke (HR, 0.75, 95% CI, 0.58–0.97) compared with those scoring 0–2. Study limitations include possible recall bias, misclassification, and residual confounding.

Clinical takeaway: Consider encouraging patients to adopt balanced, plant‑forward eating patterns that align with Mediterranean-style components when discussing long‑term vascular risk reduction strategies.

Source:

Sherzai AZ, et al. (2026, February 4). Neurology. Mediterranean Diet and the Risk of Stroke Subtypes in Women. https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WN9.0000000000000062