The Healthy Eating Index 2020 components contributed unequally to systemic inflammatory biomarkers: A large national cross‐sectional study

Abstract

The association of Healthy Eating Index 2020 (HEI‐2020), especially its components with systemic inflammatory biomarkers, has not been examined. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between HEI‐2020 and its components with systemic inflammatory biomarkers, and to provide a dietary pattern suggestion to combat systemic inflammation. Participants aged 20 years and older with complete information on two reliable dietary recalls, blood cell counts and demographic characteristics, were recruited from six NHANES cycles from 2007 to 2018. Weighted general linear methods showed that HEI‐2020 was negatively associated with systemic immune‐inflammation index (SII) and systemic inflammation response index (SIRI). Weighted quantile regression (WQS) models and quantile g‐computation (QGC) models supported the negative association between the mixed components and systemic inflammation. High intakes of whole fruits, whole grains, greens and beans, and seafood and plant proteins, along with a low intake of added sugars, were associated with reduced systemic inflammation. In contrast, the scores of sodium, dairy, total protein, and refined grains showed no significant effect. Briefly, our study provides an anti‐inflammatory dietary pattern suggestion based on the 13 components of HEI‐2020 and Dietary Guidelines for Americans.