How a Mediterranean-style diet changes blood and urine markers linked to heart disease
Official title: Mediterranean diet, Metabolites, and Cardiovascular Disease
Funded at Harvard University D/b/a Harvard School of Public Health · NIH-11416108 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks for chemical markers in blood and urine that change with a Mediterranean-style diet and that might help predict heart attacks, strokes, and other heart problems in adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Harvard University D/b/a Harvard School of Public Health NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | July 15, 2013 |
| Project end | February 28, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $88,812 |
| NIH project number | 3R01HL118264-12S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11416108 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults at risk for cardiovascular disease or interested in how diet affects heart disease would be the most relevant group for the findings and possible future studies.
✕Less likely to help
Children, people without cardiovascular risk factors, or those not willing to provide blood or urine samples are unlikely to benefit directly from this specific project.
What this research studies
Researchers will use blood and urine samples from participants in the large PREDIMED trial to find metabolite patterns tied to the Mediterranean diet and its main foods. They will compare measurements taken at the start and after one year to see which metabolite signatures change with the diet. A representative subcohort and all people who later developed heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, or died of cardiovascular causes will be analyzed to link markers to future risk. The team will combine urine and plasma data to build multi-metabolite signatures that could improve dietary measurement and risk prediction.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to blood or urine tests that show whether someone is following a heart-healthy Mediterranean diet and help identify people at higher risk for cardiovascular events.
How similar studies have gone: Previous metabolomics studies have shown promising links between diet patterns and biomarkers and between some biomarkers and heart disease, but combining urine and plasma multi-metabolite signatures is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Harvard University D/b/a Harvard School of Public Health
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hu, Frank B — Harvard University D/b/a Harvard School of Public Health
- Study coordinator: Hu, Frank B
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.