Association between Dietary Inflammatory Index and Type 2 diabetes mellitus in Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region, China

BACKGROUND: Diet and inflammation have both been studied in relation to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the association between the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®) and T2DM. METHODS: Subjects were adults enrolled in the baseline study of the Xinjiang multi-ethnic natural population cohort and health follow-up study from January to May 2019. The study involved 5,105 subjects (58.7% men) between 35 and 74 years of age. The DII score was calculated from a data obtained via a food frequency questionnaire consisting of 127 food items. RESULTS: Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) of DII in relation to T2DM. After adjusting for potential confounders, compared to subjects in the 1st DII quintile, subjects in the 5th quintile (i.e., with the most pro-inflammatory diet) had higher odds of T2DM (OR = 3.27, 95%CI:2.38,4.50; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that a pro-inflammatory diet is associated with a higher risk of T2DM in this population of Chinese adults.