BEATRİZ MARTİNS VİCENTE, AMÁLİA ALMEİDA BASTOS, CAMİLA MARİA DE MELO, RİTA DE CASSİA DE AQUİNO, SANDRA MARİA LİMA RİBEİRO
European Journal of Geriatrics and Gerontology - 2023;5(3):238-245
Objective: Aging is associated with low-grade systemic inflammation (LGSI), and nutrition has been recognized as a crucial modifiable factor concerning LGSI. The aims of this study are to (i) identify the dietary quality of community-dwelling older adults using three approaches; two conventional a priori indexes and a ratio between minimally processed and ultra-processed foods (UPR; based on the NOVA classification); (ii) explore some differences and similarities among the approaches; (iii) investigate the association of DII and MDS with a biomarker of systemic inflammation, and investigate if UPR could be used in a complementary way to these associations. Materials and Methods: We studied independent (non-frail) older adults, both genders, without any inflammatory disease. Variables investigated: - The anti-inflammatory index (AII = IL-10/IL-6 ratio); - Two 24h-food recall, from which we calculated: The dietary inflammatory index (DII); the Mediterranean Diet Scale (MDS); and the ratio between unprocessed or minimally processed/ultra-processed food (UPR). Single and multiples linear regression models, crude or adjusted by age and sex, were adopted to test the associations between the approaches and the anti-inflammatory biomarker. The differences and similarities between the approaches were explored using correlation analyses and the regression models. Results: The MDS and DII showed the same trend to indicate the inflammatory potential; the UPR presented a non-significant correlation with the others. Only the MDS positively and significantly explained the AII values; the combination between MDS or DII with UPR did not change the association level with the anti-inflammatory index. Conclusion: The only significant correlation was found between MDS and DII, however in different directions; only the MDS showed a significant association with our anti-inflammatory marker and the inclusion of UPR in our regression models did not add any improvement to the models. More studies are necessary with more robust and representative samples.
