Association between previously diagnosed circulatory conditions and a dietary inflammatory index

Inflammation is a key contributor to the development or recurrence of circulatory disorders. Diet is a strong modifier of inflammation. It was hypothesized that more pro-inflammatory diets, as indicated by higher Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) scores, would be associated with self-reported previously diagnosed circulatory disorders using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data. This analysis included NHANES respondents from 2005-2010 (n = 15,693). The DII was calculated from micro and macronutrients derived from a single 24-hour recall. Logistic regression, stratified by sex and adjusted for important covariates, was used to determine the odds of previous circulatory disorder diagnoses by quartile of DII scores. Excluding hypertension, which had a prevalence of 30%, the prevalence of any circulatory disorder was 8%. Those in DII quartile 4 were 1.30 (95%CI = 1.06-1.58) times more likely to have a previous circulatory disorder (excluding hypertension) compared to those in DII quartile 1. Similar findings were observed for specific CVDs including congestive heart failure, stroke, and heart attack. Participants in DII quartile 4 were more likely to have a diagnosis of hypertension compared to those in DII quartile 1 (prevalence odds ratio = 1.19, 95%CI = 1.05-1.34). Results tended to be stronger among females. Individuals with a previous circulatory disorder diagnosis from NHANES appear to have more pro-inflammatory diets compared to those without a previous diagnosis. Because inflammation is an important factor related to recurrence of circulatory disorders, the DII could be used in treatment programs to monitor dietary modulators of inflammation among individuals with these conditions.