AUTHOR=Zhang Chuang , Ren Weirui , Li Meng , Wang Wenbo , Sun Chi , Liu Lin , Fang Yanbin , Liu Lin , Yang Xiaofeng , Zhang Xiangjian , Li Suolin 

TITLE=Association Between the Children's Dietary Inflammatory Index (C-DII) and Markers of Inflammation and Oxidative Stress Among Children and Adolescents: NHANES 2015-2018

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nutrition

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.894966

DOI=10.3389/fnut.2022.894966

ISSN=2296-861X

ABSTRACT=Objectives: This study aimed to explore the association of Children’s Dietary Inflammatory Index (C-DII) scores with inflammation and markers of inflammatory factors in children and adolescents.
Methods: Data on dietary nutrient intake, markers of inflammation [ferritin, alkaline phosphatase, C-reactive protein (CRP), absolute neutrophil cell count, and lymphocyte count] and oxidative stress (serum bilirubin, albumin, and iron) among participants aged 6–19 years (n = 1281) were collected. Each participant’s C-DII score was calculated based on a 24-hour diet and recall. Generalized linear models were applied to examine the associations between C-DII and markers of inflammation and oxidative stress while adjusting for covariates. Restricted cubic splines were used to explore the dose–response association of C-DII scores with indicators of inflammatory oxidative stress. Akaike’s Information Criterion was applied to compare the performance of linear and nonlinear models.
Results: After adjusting for potential confounders, quantile regression results showed that when comparing C-DII quartile 4 (most pro-inflammatory) and quartile 1 (most anti-inflammatory), lymphocytes, ferritin, and CRP showed statistically significant differences in serum bilirubin, albumin, and serum iron (P < 0.05). The C-DII score showed a non-linear relationship with indicators of inflammatory oxidative stress. Overweight/obese children and adolescents who ate a high pro-inflammatory diet were more likely to have higher levels of inflammatory cytokines (P = 0.002).
Conclusions: The dietary inflammatory index in children is associated with markers of chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. A pro-inflammatory diet resulted in increased serum concentrations of these markers, implying that early dietary interventions have implications for reducing chronic inflammation and oxidative stress in children and adolescents.