Relationship of Mediterranean Diet and Its Components with Parameters of Structure, Vascular Function, and Vascular Aging in Subjects Diagnosed with Long COVID: BioICOPER Study

Navarro-Cáceres, Alicia; Gómez-Sánchez, Leticia; Arroyo-Romero, Silvia; Suárez-Moreno, Nuria; Domínguez-Martín, Andrea; Lugones-Sánchez, Cristina; González-Sánchez, Susana; Rodríguez-Sánchez, Emiliano; García-Ortiz, Luis; Gómez-Sánchez, Marta; Navarro-Matias, Elena; Gómez-Marcos, Manuel A.

doi:10.3390/nu17203226

This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.

Open AccessArticle

Relationship of Mediterranean Diet and Its Components with Parameters of Structure, Vascular Function, and Vascular Aging in Subjects Diagnosed with Long COVID: BioICOPER Study

by

Alicia Navarro-Cáceres

^1,2,†

,

Leticia Gómez-Sánchez

^3,†

,

Silvia Arroyo-Romero

^1,2

,

Nuria Suárez-Moreno

^1,2

,

Andrea Domínguez-Martín

^1,2,

Cristina Lugones-Sánchez

^1,2,4

,

Susana González-Sánchez

^1,4,

Emiliano Rodríguez-Sánchez

^1,2,4,5

,

Luis García-Ortiz

^1,2,4,6

,

Marta Gómez-Sánchez

⁷,

Elena Navarro-Matias

^1,2,4,‡

and

Manuel A. Gómez-Marcos

^{1,2,4,5,*,‡}

¹

Primary Care Research Unit of Salamanca (APISAL), Salamanca Primary Care Management, Institute of Biomedical Research of Salamanca (IBSAL), 37005 Salamanca, Spain

²

Castilla and León Health Service-SACYL, Regional Health Management, 37005 Salamanca, Spain

³

Emergency Service, University Hospital of La Paz, P. of Castellana, 261, 28046 Madrid, Spain

⁴

Research Network on Chronicity, Primary Care and Health Promotion (RICAPPS), 37005 Salamanca, Spain

⁵

Department of Medicine, University of Salamanca, 28046 Salamanca, Spain

⁶

Department of Biomedical and Diagnostic Sciences, University of Salamanca, 37007 Salamanca, Spain

⁷

Home Hospitalization Service, Marques of Valdecilla University Hospital, s/n, 39008 Santander, Spain

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work as co-first author.

^‡

These authors contributed equally to this work as co-last author.

Nutrients 2025, 17(20), 3226; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17203226

Submission received: 19 September 2025 / Revised: 7 October 2025 / Accepted: 11 October 2025 / Published: 14 October 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional Strategies for Promoting Arterial Health and Cardiovascular Prevention)

Download Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

Introduction: Long COVID (LC) is associated with an increase in cardiovascular risk and chronic inflammation, whereas the Mediterranean Diet (MD) seems to improve the aforementioned factors. The aim of this study is to analyse the relationship between MD and its components with vascular structure, function, and aging in patients diagnosed with LC globally and by sex. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study with 304 subjects diagnosed with LC; 207 were women and 97 men. Adherence to MD was evaluated with a validated MEDAS questionnaire, composed of 14 items. The vascular structure was assessed using carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT). Three measurements were carried out to evaluate vascular function: cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV). Vascular aging index (VAI) was estimated. Results: The MD score was 7.80 ± 2.33, with no difference between sexes. Vascular function and aging parameter values were higher in men than in women. Use of olive oil as the principal source of fat for cooking, and consuming <1 serving of butter/day and <1 sugar-sweetened beverage/day showed >90% adherence. Logistic regression analysis displayed associations between cIMT< 0.625 and use of olive oil in the global analysis (OR = 0.148) and among men (OR = 0.120), and <2 commercial pastries/week in global (OR = 0.536). cfPWV < 7.400 m/s was associated with DM score ≥ 8 in global (OR = 0.444) and in women, as well as with <2 pastries/week in women (OR = 0.405). baPWV < 12.315 m/s was associated with ≥3 servings of pulses/week in global (OR = 0.481) and among women, as was <2 pastries/week in global (OR = 0.471) and in women. CAVI < 7.450 was associated with ≥4 tablespoons of olive oil/day in men. VAI < 63.693 was associated with DM score ≥ 8 in global (OR = 0.458) and in women, as well as <2 pastries/week in global (OR = 0.392). Conclusions: Adherence to MD was associated with lower cfPWV and VAI measures in the global analysis and among women. In particular, several of the components were associated with a better vascular profile in LC patients.

Keywords: long COVID; Mediterranean Diet; vascular stiffness; vascular structure; vascular function; vascular aging

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Navarro-Cáceres, A.; Gómez-Sánchez, L.; Arroyo-Romero, S.; Suárez-Moreno, N.; Domínguez-Martín, A.; Lugones-Sánchez, C.; González-Sánchez, S.; Rodríguez-Sánchez, E.; García-Ortiz, L.; Gómez-Sánchez, M.; et al. Relationship of Mediterranean Diet and Its Components with Parameters of Structure, Vascular Function, and Vascular Aging in Subjects Diagnosed with Long COVID: BioICOPER Study. Nutrients 2025, 17, 3226. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17203226

AMA Style

Navarro-Cáceres A, Gómez-Sánchez L, Arroyo-Romero S, Suárez-Moreno N, Domínguez-Martín A, Lugones-Sánchez C, González-Sánchez S, Rodríguez-Sánchez E, García-Ortiz L, Gómez-Sánchez M, et al. Relationship of Mediterranean Diet and Its Components with Parameters of Structure, Vascular Function, and Vascular Aging in Subjects Diagnosed with Long COVID: BioICOPER Study. Nutrients. 2025; 17(20):3226. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17203226

Chicago/Turabian Style

Navarro-Cáceres, Alicia, Leticia Gómez-Sánchez, Silvia Arroyo-Romero, Nuria Suárez-Moreno, Andrea Domínguez-Martín, Cristina Lugones-Sánchez, Susana González-Sánchez, Emiliano Rodríguez-Sánchez, Luis García-Ortiz, Marta Gómez-Sánchez, and et al. 2025. "Relationship of Mediterranean Diet and Its Components with Parameters of Structure, Vascular Function, and Vascular Aging in Subjects Diagnosed with Long COVID: BioICOPER Study" Nutrients 17, no. 20: 3226. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17203226

APA Style

Navarro-Cáceres, A., Gómez-Sánchez, L., Arroyo-Romero, S., Suárez-Moreno, N., Domínguez-Martín, A., Lugones-Sánchez, C., González-Sánchez, S., Rodríguez-Sánchez, E., García-Ortiz, L., Gómez-Sánchez, M., Navarro-Matias, E., & Gómez-Marcos, M. A. (2025). Relationship of Mediterranean Diet and Its Components with Parameters of Structure, Vascular Function, and Vascular Aging in Subjects Diagnosed with Long COVID: BioICOPER Study. Nutrients, 17(20), 3226. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17203226

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Relationship of Mediterranean Diet and Its Components with Parameters of Structure, Vascular Function, and Vascular Aging in Subjects Diagnosed with Long COVID: BioICOPER Study

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI