The Relationship Between the Dietary Inflammatory Index and Metabolic Syndrome in Ravansar Cohort Study

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between dietary inflammatory index (DII) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components using data of Ravansar non-communicable diseases (RaNCD) cohort study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The present cross-sectional study was performed using the information of 6538 participants in the RaNCD study in Iran. A validated 125-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to acquire DII scores. MetS was defined based on national cholesterol education program-adult treatment panel III (NCEP-ATP III) criteria. The association between DII and MetS and its components was investigated by the logistic regression model using STATA software. RESULTS: A significant association was found between DII and MetS (OR (trend): 1.08, 95% CI: 1.01–1.15, P =0.017), triglyceride (TG) (OR (trend): 1.06, 95% CI: 1.00–1.12, P=0.030), fasting blood glucose (FBG) (OR (trend): 1.10, 95% CI: 1.01–1.20, P=0.018) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (OR (trend): 1.07, 95% CI: 1.02–1.12, P= 0.005) after adjustment for all covariates. Also, there was a significant relationship between DII score and waist circumference (WC) (OR (trend): 1.07, 95% CI: 1.01–1.14, P=0.016). CONCLUSION: Higher DII score (a pro-inflammatory diet) had a significant association with the risk of MetS and its components, even after adjustment for different potential confounding factors including socio-demographic data and lifestyle habits. However, further longitudinal investigations with more dietary parameters are needed to elucidate the role of the pro-inflammatory diet in the etiology of MetS.