Dietary inflammatory index and cardiorenal function in women with diabetes and prediabetes

Dietary inflammatory potential and arterial stiffness in a French cohort: Insights from the STANISLAS study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Chronic inflammation plays a key role in arterial stiffness pathogenesis. Dietary components can display anti- or pro-inflammatory properties. Nonetheless, the association between the diet's overall inflammatory potential and arterial stiffness is unclear. This study aimed to assess the association between the diet's overall inflammatory potential and arterial stiffness assessed by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV).

METHODS AND RESULTS

This cross-sectional study included 1307 participants from the STANISLAS family cohort study. Dietary data were collected using a validated food frequency questionnaire. The adapted dietary inflammatory index (ADII) score was calculated to assess the inflammatory potential of the participants' diet. The association of ADII score quartile with cfPWV was assessed using IPW-weighted linear mixed models with random family effect. The median (Q1-Q3) ADII score was 0.45 (-1.57, 2.04). Participants exhibiting higher ADII scores demonstrated elevated energy intake, dietary saturated fat, and ultra-processed foods. Conversely, individuals with lower ADII scores exhibited higher vitamins and omega intakes, and a higher diet quality, as assessed by the DASH score. Despite these observations from the descriptive analyses, ADII score quartiles were not significantly associated with cfPWV (β(95% CI) were 0.01 (-0.02,0.04) for Q2, 0.02 (-0.01,0.05) for Q3, and 0.02 (-0.01,0.05) for Q4 compared to Q1).

CONCLUSION

In this cross-sectional study, participants had a relatively modest consumption of pro-inflammatory foods, no substantial associations were observed between the diet inflammatory potential and arterial stiffness. Further longitudinal studies in larger cohorts are needed to better understand the link between inflammatory diet and arterial stiffness.

Nut consumption, gut microbiota, and body fat distribution: results of a large, community-based population study

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to investigate the relationships among nut consumption, gut microbiota, and body fat distribution.

METHODS

We studied 2255 Chinese adults in the Lanxi Cohort living in urban areas in Lanxi City, China. Fat distribution was assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, and nut consumption was assessed using food frequency questionnaires. 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequencing was performed on stool samples from 1724 participants. Linear regression and Spearman correlation were used in all analyses. A validation study was performed using 1274 participants in the Lanxi Cohort living in rural areas.

RESULTS

Nut consumption was beneficially associated with regional fat accumulation. Gut microbial analysis suggested that a high intake of nuts was associated with greater microbial α diversity. Six genera were found to be associated with nut consumption, and the abundance of genera Anaerobutyricum, Anaerotaenia, and Fusobacterium was significantly associated with fat distribution. Favorable relationships between α diversity and fat distribution were also observed. Similar relationships between gut microbiota and fat distribution were obtained in the validation analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

We have shown that nut consumption is beneficially associated with body fat distribution and gut microbiota diversity and taxonomy. Furthermore, the microbial features related to high nut intake are associated with a favorable pattern of fat distribution.

Dietary inflammatory index and lower glomerular filtration rate in Mexican adults

We hypothesized that higher scores on the dietary inflammatory index (DII) would be associated with a lower glomerular filtration rate (GFR). This cross-sectional study included 2098 participants from Mexican Teachers Cohort Study, the Health Workers Cohort Study, and the Comitán Study belonging to the RenMex consortium. Energy-adjusted DII scores were estimated using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). eGFR was estimated by the CKD Epidemiology Collaboration equation. Quantile regression models and ordered regression models were estimated to assess the associations of interest. Median age of study participants was 47 years, median eGFR was 102.9 mL/min/1.73m2, and the median energy-adjusted DII was 0.89 (range, -2.25, +4.86). The median eGFR was lower in participants in the highest percentile of DII compared to those in the lowest percentile (103.8 vs 101.4). We found that continuous and categorical energy-adjusted DII scores were associated with lower eGFR, especially at the lower percentiles. In adjusted ordered logistic regression, we found that the highest DII category was associated with 1.80 times the odds of belonging to the mildly decreased eGFR category or moderately decreased eGFR category compared lowest DII category (OR: 1.80, 95%CI 1.35, 2.40). A high DII score was associated with a lower eGFR among the Mexican population. Additional studies are crucial to validate these findings and explore potential strategies to reduce the consumption of pro-inflammatory foods as a preventive approach for chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Associations of childhood diet quality scores with arterial stiffness and carotid artery intima-media thickness in adolescence/early adulthood: findings from the ALSPAC cohort

This study examined the relationship between childhood diet quality and arterial stiffness and thickness during adolescence/early adulthood. Participants were from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) with dietary data at ages 7, 10 and 13 years and pulse wave velocity (PWV) and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) at ages 17 and/or 24 years. Diet quality (DQ) was assessed using five scores: a children's Mediterranean-style diet (C-rMED) Z-score, a children's Dietary Inflammatory Z-score (C-DIS), a DASH diet Z-score, a children's Eatwell Guide (C-EWG) Z-score reflecting UK dietary guidelines and a data-driven obesogenic Z-score. Adjusted regression models examined the associations between DQ scores at 7-13 years and PWV and cIMT at 17 and 24 years. In adjusted models, a high v. low Obesogenic Z-score at 7 and 10 years was associated with higher PWV at 17: β 0.07 (95 % CI 0.01, 0.13) and β 0.10 (95 % CI 0.04, 0.16), respectively. A high v. low C-rMED Z-score at 7 years was associated with lower PWV at 17 (β -0.07; 95 % CI -0.14, -0.01). A high (more anti-inflammatory) vs low C-DIS Z-score at 10 years was associated with a lower PWV at 17 years: β -0.06 (95 % CI -0.12, -0.01). No other associations were observed. In conclusion, an Obesogenic dietary pattern in childhood (7-10 years) was related to increased arterial stiffness, while Mediterranean-style and anti-inflammatory diets were related to decreased arterial stiffness in adolescence. This highlights the importance of establishing healthy dietary habits early in life to protect against vascular damage.