Association between dietary inflammatory index and Bell's palsy: a retrospective case-control study

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Immunology
• Nutritional Science

Background:

• Bell's palsy (BP) is an acute idiopathic facial nerve paralysis.
• Inflammatory and immune processes are suspected to play a role in BP.
• The Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) measures the inflammatory potential of a diet.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) and Bell's palsy (BP).
• To determine if a pro-inflammatory diet is linked to an increased risk of BP.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective case-control study with 30 BP patients and 30 controls.
• Dietary intake assessed via food frequency questionnaire; DII scores calculated.
• Multivariable logistic regression and ROC analysis used to evaluate associations.

Main Results:

• BP patients had significantly higher DII scores compared to controls (p=0.002).
• Higher intakes of carbohydrates, total fat, saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, and sodium were observed in the BP group.
• Each 1-unit increase in DII was independently associated with BP (aOR=1.70, p=0.005).

Conclusions:

• A higher dietary inflammatory potential is associated with Bell's palsy.
• Findings suggest a pro-inflammatory dietary profile may contribute to BP risk.
• Causality between diet and BP cannot be inferred from this study.