The Dietary Inflammatory Index and Its Associations with Biomarkers of Nutrients with Antioxidant Potential, a Biomarker of Inflammation and Multiple Long-Term Conditions.
Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) 2024 ; 13: .
Mulligan AA, Lentjes MAH, Skinner J, Welch AA
DOI : 10.3390/antiox13080962
PubMed ID : 39199208
PMCID : PMC11351935
URL : https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/13/8/962
Abstract
We aimed to validate the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) and assess the cross-sectional associations between the DII and multiple long-term conditions (MLTCs) and biomarker concentrations and MLTCs using data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC-Norfolk) study (11,113 men and 13,408 women). The development of MLTCs is associated with low-grade chronic inflammation, and ten self-reported conditions were selected for our MLTC score. Data from a validated FFQ were used to calculate energy-adjusted DII scores. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and circulating vitamins A, C, E, β-carotene and magnesium were available. Micronutrient biomarker concentrations were significantly lower as the diet became more pro-inflammatory (-trend < 0.001), and hs-CRP concentrations were significantly higher in men (-trend = 0.006). A lower DII (anti-inflammatory) score was associated with 12-40% higher odds of MLTCs. Lower concentrations of vitamin C and higher concentrations of hs-CRP were associated with higher odds of MLTCs. The majority of the associations in our study between MLTCs, nutritional biomarkers, hs-CRP and the DII were as expected, indicating that the DII score has criterion validity. Despite this, a more anti-inflammatory diet was associated with higher odds of MLTCs, which was unexpected. Future studies are required to better understand the associations between MLTCs and the DII.