Interrelationship of Seasons with Inflammation, Red Meat, Fruit, and Vegetable Intakes, Cardio-Metabolic Health, and Smoking Status among Breast Cancer Survivors

Untargeted metabolomic analysis investigating links between unprocessed red meat intake and markers of inflammation

BACKGROUND

Whether red meat consumption is associated with higher inflammation or confounded by increased adiposity remains unclear. Plasma metabolites capture the effects of diet after food is processed, digested, and absorbed, and correlate with markers of inflammation, so they can help clarify diet-health relationships.

OBJECTIVE

To identify whether any metabolites associated with red meat intake are also associated with inflammation.

METHODS

A cross-sectional analysis of observational data from older adults (52.84% women, mean age 63 ± 0.3 y) participating in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Dietary intake was assessed by food-frequency questionnaire, alongside C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-2, interleukin-6, fibrinogen, homocysteine, and tumor necrosis factor alpha, and untargeted proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) metabolomic features. Associations between these variables were examined using linear regression models, adjusted for demographic factors, lifestyle behaviors, and body mass index (BMI).

RESULTS

In analyses that adjust for BMI, neither processed nor unprocessed forms of red meat were associated with any markers of inflammation (all P > 0.01). However, when adjusting for BMI, unprocessed red meat was inversely associated with spectral features representing the metabolite glutamine (sentinel hit: β = -0.09 ± 0.02, P = 2.0 × 10-5), an amino acid which was also inversely associated with CRP level (β = -0.11 ± 0.01, P = 3.3 × 10-10).

CONCLUSIONS

Our analyses were unable to support a relationship between either processed or unprocessed red meat and inflammation, over and above any confounding by BMI. Glutamine, a plasma correlate of lower unprocessed red meat intake, was associated with lower CRP levels. The differences in diet-inflammation associations, compared with diet metabolite-inflammation associations, warrant further investigation to understand the extent that these arise from the following: 1) a reduction in measurement error with metabolite measures; 2) the extent that which factors other than unprocessed red meat intake contribute to glutamine levels; and 3) the ability of plasma metabolites to capture individual differences in how food intake is metabolized.

Exploratory analysis of the effect of a controlled lifestyle intervention on inflammatory markers - the Healthy Lifestyle Community Programme (cohort 2)

BACKGROUND

Chronic low-grade inflammation is associated with an increased risk of chronic disease and mortality. The objective of the study was to test the effect of a healthy lifestyle intervention on biomarkers of inflammation (among other risk markers).

METHODS

We conducted a non-randomized controlled trial with mostly middle-aged and elderly participants from the general population in rural northwest Germany (intervention: n = 114; control: n = 87). The intervention consisted of a 1-year lifestyle programme focusing on diet (largely plant-based; strongest emphasis), physical activity, stress management, and social support. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) was assessed at baseline, 10 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year. Homocysteine (Hcy) was assessed at baseline, 10 weeks, and 1 year. Adiponectin (Apn) was assessed at baseline and 10 weeks. An exploratory analysis of these inflammatory markers assessing the between-group differences with ANCOVA was conducted.

RESULTS

The 1-year trajectory of hs-CRP was significantly lower in the intervention group compared to control (between-group difference: -0.8 (95% CI -1.2, -0.3) mg/l; p = 0.001; adjusted for baseline). The 1-year trajectory of Hcy was non-significantly higher in the intervention compared to control (between-group difference: 0.2 (95% CI -0.3, 0.7) µmol/l; p = 0.439; adjusted for baseline). From baseline to 10 weeks, Apn decreased significantly more in the intervention group compared to control (between-group difference: -1.6 (95% CI -2.7, -0.5) µg/ml; p = 0.004; adjusted for baseline).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study shows that healthy lifestyle changes can lower hs-CRP and Apn levels and are unlikely to significantly affect Hcy levels within 1 year.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS; reference: DRKS00018775 , registered 12 Sept 2019; retrospectively registered; www.drks.de ).

Dietary inflammatory index, inflammation biomarkers and preeclampsia risk: a hospital-based case-control study

This study evaluated the association between inflammatory diets as measured by the Dietary Inflammatory index (DII), inflammation biomarkers and the development of preeclampsia among the Chinese population. We followed the reporting guidelines of the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology statement for observational studies. A total of 466 preeclampsia cases aged over 18 years were recruited between March 2016 and June 2019, and 466 healthy controls were 1:1 ratio matched by age (±3 years), week of gestation (±1 week) and gestational diabetes mellitus. The energy-adjusted DII (E-DII) was computed based on dietary intake assessed using a seventy-nine item semiquantitative FFQ. Inflammatory biomarkers were analysed by ELISA kits. The mean E-DII scores were -0·65 ± 1·58 for cases and -1·19 ± 1·47 for controls (P value < 0·001). E-DII scores positively correlated with interferon-γ (r s = 0·194, P value = 0·001) and IL-4 (r s = 0·135, P value = 0·021). After multivariable adjustment, E-DII scores were positively related to preeclampsia risk (Ptrend < 0·001). The highest tertile of E-DII was 2·18 times the lowest tertiles (95 % CI = 1·52, 3·13). The odds of preeclampsia increased by 30 % (95 % CI = 18 %, 43 %, P value < 0·001) for each E-DII score increase. The preeclampsia risk was positively associated with IL-2 (OR = 1·07, 95 % CI = 1·03, 1·11), IL-4 (OR = 1·26, 95 % CI = 1·03, 1·54) and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) (OR = 1·17, 95 % CI = 1·06, 1·29). Therefore, proinflammatory diets, corresponding to higher IL-2, IL-4 and TGF-β levels, were associated with increased preeclampsia risk.

Daily Vegetables Intake and Response to COPD Rehabilitation. The Role of Oxidative Stress, Inflammation and DNA Damage

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a respiratory disease associated with airways inflammation and lung parenchyma fibrosis. The primary goals of COPD treatment are to reduce symptoms and risk of exacerbations, therefore pulmonary rehabilitation is considered the key component of managing COPD patients. Oxidative airway damage, inflammation and reduction of endogenous antioxidant enzymes are known to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of COPD. Recently, also natural antioxidants have been considered as they play an important role in metabolism, DNA repair and fighting the effects of oxidative stress. In this paper we evaluated the response of 105 elderly COPD patients to pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), based on high or low vegetable consumption, by analyzing clinical parameters and biological measurements at baseline and after completion of the three weeks PR. We found that daily vegetable intake in normal diet, without any specific intervention, can increase the probability to successfully respond to rehabilitation (65.4% of responders ate vegetables daily vs. 40.0% of non-responders, p = 0.033). The association was especially evident in subjects ≥ 80 year of age (OR = 17.0; p < 0.019). Three weeks of pulmonary rehabilitation are probably too short to reveal a reduction of the oxidative stress and DNA damage, but are enough to show an improvement in the patient’s inflammatory state.