Dietary inflammatory potential, systemic inflammation, and cognitive function in healthy adults in Saudi Arabia

To assess the relationship between the inflammatory potential of diets, measured using the energy-adjusted Dietary Inflammatory Index (E-DII), and serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) level, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and cognitive function, assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).

A subset of 117 adults (18-50 years old) from a larger sample completed a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Serum hs-CRP was measured using a high-sensitivity immunoturbidimetric method, and ESR was assessed using the Westergren method. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate associations between E-DII, inflammatory markers, and cognitive outcomes after adjusting for age, sex, education, income, body mass index, and smoking status. Sample sizes varied in the analyses due to different subsets of participants providing complete data.

Higher E-DII scores were positively associated with hs-CRP level (β = 0.445, 95% CI, 0.047-0.841; p = 0.029) but not with ESR. A higher E-DII was also associated with poorer performance in the MoCA language domain (p = 0.021), though no significant associations were found with total MoCA score. Additionally, hs-CRP was not significantly associated with total MoCA score.

Pro-inflammatory dietary patterns are associated with higher systemic inflammation. However, no clear association was observed between dietary inflammatory potential/systemic inflammation, and cognitive function in this sample. Longitudinal and interventional studies with larger and more diverse populations, and incorporating additional inflammatory and cognitive biomarkers, are needed to further clarify these relationships.