Chinese Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Index Is Associated with High Risk of Systematic Inflammation and Aging in Rural China

Abstract

Abstract Background：China is rapidly transforming into an aging society and houses the largest elderly population in the world. Diet patterns increase inflammation and oxidative stress, which may provide effective intervention strategies for mitigating the health burden in aging societies. This study sought to develop a Chinese empirical dietary inflammatory index(CEDII) that assesses Chinese diet quality based on its inflammatory potential and examine whether the index was associated with an accelerated aging process. Methods:A cross-sectional study conducted in the community of Beijing recruited 388 participants. Dietary intake was collected based on 24-h dietary recalls. The Chinese Diet Balance Index(DBI) and its derivatives, as well as the empirical dietary inflammatory pattern(EDIP) based on the western diet, were calculated to assess dietary quality in different aspects. Chinese empirical dietary inflammatory index(CEDII) was derived using reduced-rank regression(RRR) according to Chinese diet patterns. The population was categorized into tertiles of the CEDII. Leukocyte telomere length(LTL) and mitochondrial DNA copy number(mtDNAcn) were determined by polymerase chain reaction assay. Tumor necrosis factor α(TNFα) and interleukin-6(IL-6), 8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dG), superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, and glutathione reductase (GR) were measured. ResultsA total of 388 subjects were enrolled. High CEDII group was characterized by high intake of carbohydrates. This pattern predicted higher levels of TNFα, IL-6, shorter LTL and lower mtDNAcn. Neither DBI nor EDIP was correlated with biomarkers of inflammation or aging. High CEDII scores were associated with short LTL and decreased mtDNAcn using multivariate linear regression with adjustment for confounding variables. The stratified analysis demonstrated that the high CEDII group had an increased risk of short LTL in subjects with abnormal metabolic status. Conclusions: This study developed a Chinese empirical dietary inflammatory index(CEDII). High CEDII scores were associated with an increased risk of aging. Compared with indexes related to DBI and EDIP, CEDII was much more effective in assessing inflammation and aging potential of diet patterns for Chinese residents.