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Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC
University Medical Centre Rotterdam, PO Box
1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, Netherlands. o.francoduran@erasmusmc.nl
OBJECTIVE:
Although the Polypill concept (proposed in
2003) is promising in terms of benefits for
cardiovascular risk management, the potential
costs and adverse effects are its main pitfalls.
The objective of this study was to identify
a tastier and safer alternative to the Polypill:
the Polymeal.
METHODS: Data on the ingredients
of the Polymeal were taken from the literature.
The evidence based recipe included wine,
fish, dark chocolate, fruits, vegetables,
garlic, and almonds. Data from the Framingham
heart study and the Framingham offspring
study were used to build life tables to model
the benefits of the Polymeal in the general
population from age 50, assuming multiplicative
correlations.
RESULTS: Combining the ingredients
of the Polymeal would reduce cardiovascular
disease events by 76%. For men, taking the
Polymeal daily represented an increase in
total life expectancy of 6.6 years, an increase
in life expectancy free from cardiovascular
disease of 9.0 years, and a decrease in life
expectancy with cardiovascular disease of
2.4 years. The corresponding differences
for women were 4.8, 8.1, and 3.3 years.
CONCLUSION:
The Polymeal promises to be an effective,
non-pharmacological, safe, cheap, and tasty
alternative to reduce cardiovascular morbidity
and increase life expectancy in the general
population.
PMID: 15604180 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] |
