Association between dietary inflammatory index score and muscle mass and strength in older adults: a study from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2002

Abstract

Purpose Chronic low-grade systemic inflammation affects muscle protein metabolism. The dietary inflammatory index (DII®) is a tool designed to assess the inflammatory potential of the diet. The available data on the association between DII and sarcopenia are limited. We aimed to investigate the association of the DII with components of sarcopenia in individuals over 50 years of age. Methods This cross-sectional study used the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2002 dataset. Body composition was measured, and isokinetic strength of the knee extensors (peak force) was evaluated. Low muscle mass and strength were defined using sex-specific thresholds. Energy-adjusted DII (E-DII™) scores were calculated using 24-h dietary recall data. Regression models were fit to evaluate the association between E-DII scores and low muscle mass and low muscle strength, alone and combined. Results Mean age of study participants was 62.1 ± 9.5 years, and 138 participants (7.4%) belonged to the combination group of low muscle mass and low muscle strength. In multivariable-adjusted regression models, higher E-DII score was associated with lower appendicular skeletal muscle index (ASMI) (β = − 0.03, P < 0.001, P trend <0.001), and lower peak force (β = −2.15, P = 0.04, P trend = 0.01) and higher likelihood for these components combined (OR = 1.12, 95% CI 1.01–1.25, P = 0.03). Conclusion Higher E-DII score is associated with lower muscle mass and muscle strength, and increased likelihood for the combination of low muscle mass and low muscle strength in older adults. This has important implications for healthy aging.

Association between Dietary Inflammatory Index and Sarcopenia: A Meta-Analysis

“…Most of the patients with sarcopenia we included were in the stage of sarcopenia, so muscle mass reduction is significant, and the decrease in muscle strength and physical performance cannot be significant. Furthermore, some studies also showed that the DII was associated with muscle mass [ 20 , 25 ] but not with muscle strength or physical performance [ 11 , 22 , 53 ]. The results of this study are in accordance with our findings.…”

“… Forest plot of the risk of sarcopenia in subjects with a high DII vs. a low DII [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. …”

Association of dietary and nutrient patterns with systemic inflammation in community dwelling adults

“…In addition, other studies have used the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII Ⓡ ) to examine the association between diet and systemic inflammation, inflammatory biomarkers (e.g., CRP) ( 45 , 46 ), or chronic conditions. Higher scores of DII, indicating a more pro-inflammatory diet, have been associated with detrimental conditions related to pro-inflammatory state in the body, such as increased inflammatory biomarkers ( 47 ), risks of all-cause and CVD mortality ( 48 ), lower muscle mass and strength ( 49 ) and increased adiposity ( 50 ). The DII scores are based on 45 dietary components that include foods and nutrients which were associated with modulation of six inflammatory biomarkers (IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α and CRP) ( 51 ).…”

Association of Hemoglobin-to-red blood cell distribution width ratio and risk of sarcopenia: a cross sectional study

“…For some reasons, not all of the participants measured 6 times and if one had 4 or more measurements, one peak force from trials 4-6 will be selected while highest peak force from the trials will be selected if anyone complete fewer than 4 measurements(11). Any one who had a history of myocardial infarction within the past 6 weeks, chest or abdominal surgery within the past 3 weeks, knee surgery or knee replacement surgery, severe back pain, a history of brain aneurysm or stroke can't conduct the muscle strength measurements (12).…”