Abstract
Women with diabetes are at an elevated risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), and insomnia exacerbates these risks, highlighting the urgent need for effective interventions that improve cardiometabolic health and reduce mortality in this population. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the MIND (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) diet on cardiometabolic health and novel anthropometric indices in 44 women, aged 30 to 65, with type 2 diabetes and insomnia. In this randomized controlled trial, participants were assigned to either the MIND low-calorie diet (MLCD) or a standard low-calorie diet (LCD) for 12 weeks. Outcomes assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks included lipid profiles, markers of glycemic control, blood pressure, and anthropometric measures. The results revealed that the MIND diet significantly improved fasting blood sugar (FBS) (-19.31, 95% CI: -38.43 to -0.19), total cholesterol (TC) (-24.49, 95% CI: -35.05 to -13.93), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) (-20.31, 95% CI: -32.67 to -7.95), systolic blood pressure (SBP) (-7.75, 95% CI: -12.46 to -3.05), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (-2.51, 95% CI: -4.28 to -0.73), waist circumference (WC) (-1.64, 95% CI: -2.71 to -0.57), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) (-0.02, 95% CI: -0.04 to -0.002), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) (-0.01, 95% CI: -0.02 to -0.004), and body roundness index (BRI) (-0.26, 95% CI: -0.45 to -0.07), compared to the control group (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that the MIND diet could be a feasible and beneficial dietary approach to improving cardiometabolic outcomes in women with type 2 diabetes and insomnia, although further research is needed to confirm these results. Trial registration Trial registration number: IRCT20181111041611N8 on 07/08/2023. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12937-025-01275-6.