The Southern dietary pattern, characterized by added fats, fried food, eggs and egg dishes, organ meats, processed meats, and sugar-sweetened beverages, was associated with a greater hazard of all-cause mortality in black and white patients with existing coronary heart disease (CHD), while greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with a lower hazard of recurrent CHD events and all-cause mortality. Researchers investigated the associations of dietary patterns and a dietary index with recurrent CHD events and all-cause mortality in participants from the REGARDS study with existing CHD. They found:

• 3,562 participants were included.
• Over a median of 7.1 years follow-up, there were 581 recurrent CHD events and 1,098 deaths.
• In multivariable-adjusted models, the Mediterranean diet score was inversely associated with the hazard of recurrent CHD events.
• The Southern dietary pattern was adversely associated with the hazard of all-cause mortality.