(P22-022-25) Association Between Inflammatory Potential of Diet and Systemic Low-Grade Inflammation Across Nutritional Status in Older Adults

Objectives: To assess the association between the inflammatory potential of diet and systemic low-grade inflammation (SLGI) in older adults, stratified by nutritional status.

Methods: This cross-sectional, population-based study used the 2015 Health Survey of São Paulo data. The study included 292 older adults aged 60 years or older who lived in the urban area of São Paulo. The inflammatory potential of the diet was assessed by the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII). SLGI was assessed using the Systemic Inflammation Score (SIS). Nutritional status was evaluated by Body Mass Index (BMI) and categorized according to the presence of obesity, defined as a BMI equal to or higher than 30 kg/m². Linear regression models assessed the association between DII and SIS, stratified by BMI and adjusted by sex. Statistical analyses were conducted using Stata 14, with a significance level of 5%.

Results: In the group without obesity, both DII (β = 0.07, 95% CI: 0.01–0.12, p=0.02) and sex (β = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.31–0.66, p< 0.001) were significantly associated with SIS. Specifically, each 1-unit increase in DII was associated with an increase of 0.07 points in SIS, indicating that a diet with greater inflammatory potential was related to higher levels of SLGI. Furthermore, female sex was associated with an increase of 0.48 points in the SIS compared to male. In the group with obesity, there was no significant association between DII and SIS (β = 0.01, 95% CI: -0.09–0.10, p=0.94). However, sex was significantly associated with SIS in older adults with obesity (β = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.22–0.84, p=0.001). This association is similar to that observed in the group without obesity, suggesting that factors intrinsic to the female sex, such as hormonal differences, may influence the levels of SLGI, regardless of nutritional status. Moreover, the differences in the association between DII and SIS across nutritional status can be explained by other factors related to obesity, such as chronic diseases and physical activity, on SLGI.

Conclusions: The inflammatory potential of diet was associated with SLGI in older adults without obesity, while sex remained a consistent predictor across nutritional status. These findings underscore the importance of dietary and biological factors when addressing SLGI in older populations.

Funding Sources: This research was funded by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP).