Dietary Patterns, Insulin Resistance, and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes in the Whitehall II Study

OBJECTIVE—The aim of this study was to identify a dietary pattern associated with insulin resistance and investigate whether this pattern was prospectively associated with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Analysis was based on 7,339 participants of the Whitehall II study. Dietary intake was measured using a 127-item food frequency questionnaire. We used the reduced rank regression method to determine dietary patterns using the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance as the intermediate or response variable. The association between the dietary pattern identified and incidence of type 2 diabetes was investigated using Cox proportional hazard regression models. RESULTS—We identified a dietary pattern characterized by high consumption of low-calorie/diet soft drinks, onions, sugar-sweetened beverages, burgers and sausages, crisps and other snacks, and white bread and low consumption of medium-/high-fiber breakfast cereals, jam, French dressing/vinaigrette, and wholemeal bread. Higher dietary pattern scores were associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes (hazard ratio for top quartile 2.95 [95% CI 2.19–3.97]; adjusted for age, sex, and energy misreporting). This relationship was attenuated after adjustment for ethnicity, employment grade, health behaviors (smoking, alcohol use, and physical activity) but remained significant after further adjustment for blood pressure and BMI (1.51 [1.10–2.09]). CONCLUSIONS—A dietary pattern associated with insulin resistance predicts type 2 diabetes risk after adjustment for a range of confounders. This study adds to the evidence that dietary patterns are an important risk factor for type 2 diabetes.