Causal Inference Framework Reveals Mediterranean Diet Superiority and Inflammatory Mediation Pathways in Mortality Prevention: A Comparative Analysis of Nine Common Dietary Patterns

Background/Objectives: While some dietary indices have been developed to assess diet quality and chronic disease risk, their comparative effectiveness within the same population remains unclear due to methodological limitations in observational studies. This study em- ploys a causal inference framework to compare nine dietary indices for reducing all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, while investigating inflammatory pathways through multiple mediation analysis. Methods: Using dietary data...