Associations between dietary inflammatory index and inflammatory markers in the Asklepios Study

• Published in: British journal of nutrition Vol. 113; no. 4; pp. 665 - 671
• Main Authors: Shivappa, Nitin, Hébert, James R., Rietzschel, Ernst R., De Buyzere, Marc L., Langlois, Michel, Debruyne, Evi, Marcos, Ascensión, Huybrechts, Inge
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 28.02.2015
• Subjects: Adult; Anti-inflammatory agents; Belgium - epidemiology; Biomarkers; Biomarkers - blood; Blood pressure; body mass index; C-reactive protein; Cardiovascular Diseases - blood; Cardiovascular Diseases - epidemiology; Cardiovascular Diseases - etiology; Cardiovascular Diseases - immunology; chronic diseases; Contraceptives; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diet; Diet - adverse effects; Diet - ethnology; Diet Surveys; Dietary Surveys and Nutritional Epidemiology; educational status; energy; Female; fibrinogen; homocysteine; Homocysteine - blood; Humans; inflammation; Inflammation Mediators - blood; Inflammatory diseases; interleukin-6; Interleukin-6 - blood; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Middle Aged; nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents; Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; nutrients; oral contraceptives; physical activity; regression analysis; Risk Factors; therapeutics; Up-Regulation; Belgium; Diet; Cytokines; Inflammation: Inflammatory markers; Chronic disease risk
• ISSN: 0007-1145; 1475-2662; 1475-2662
• DOI: 10.1017/S000711451400395X

Previous research has shown that nutrients and certain food items influence inflammation. However, little is known about the associations between diet, as a whole, and inflammatory markers. In the present study, we examined the ability of a FFQ-derived dietary inflammatory index (DII) to predict inflammation. Data from a Belgian cross-sectional study of 2524 generally healthy subjects (age 35–55 years) were used. The DII is a population-based, literature-derived dietary index that was developed to predict inflammation and inflammation-related chronic diseases. The DII was calculated from FFQ-derived dietary information and tested against inflammatory markers, namely C-reactive protein (CRP), IL-6, homocysteine and fibrinogen. Analyses were performed using multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for energy, age, sex, BMI, smoking status, education level, use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, blood pressure, use of oral contraceptives, anti-hypertensive therapy, lipid-lowering drugs and physical activity. Multivariable analyses showed significant positive associations between the DII and the inflammatory markers IL-6 (>1·6 pg/ml) (OR 1·19, 95 % CI 1·04, 1·36) and homocysteine (>15 μmol/l) (OR 1·56, 95 % CI 1·25, 1·94). No significant associations were observed between the DII and the inflammatory markers CRP and fibrinogen. These results reinforce the fact that diet, as a whole, plays an important role in modifying inflammation.