The dietary inflammatory index and cardiometabolic parameters in US firefighters.

Introduction: Dietary choices play a crucial role in influencing systemic inflammation and the eventual development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®) is a novel tool designed to assess the inflammatory potential of one's diet. Firefighting, which is characterized by high-stress environments and elevated CVD risk, represents an interesting context for exploring the dietary inflammatory-CVD connection.
Aim: This study aims to investigate the associations between Energy-adjusted Dietary Inflammatory Index (E-DII™) scores and cardiometabolic risk parameters among US firefighters.
Methods: The study analyzed 413 participants from the Indianapolis Fire Department who took part in a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-sponsored Mediterranean diet intervention trial. Thorough medical evaluations, encompassing physical examinations, standard laboratory tests, resting electrocardiograms, and submaximal treadmill exercise testing, were carried out. Participants also completed a detailed food frequency questionnaire to evaluate dietary patterns, and E-DII scores were subsequently computed based on the gathered information.
Results: Participants had a mean body mass index (BMI) of 30.0 ± 4.5 kg/m ² and an average body fat percentage of 28.1 ± 6.6%. Regression analyses, adjusted for sex, BMI, maximal oxygen consumption (VO ₂ max), max metabolic equivalents (METS), age, and body fat percentage, revealed significant associations between high vs. low E-DII scores and total cholesterol ( β = 10.37, p = 0.04). When comparing low Vs median E-DII scores there is an increase in glucose ( β = 0.91, p = 0.72) and total cholesterol ( β = 5.51, p = 0.26).
Conclusion: Our findings support an association between higher E-DII scores and increasing adiposity, as well as worse lipid profiles.
Competing Interests: LZ and JH were employed by Connecting Health Innovations LLC. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
(Copyright © 2024 Christodoulou, Christophi, Sotos-Prieto, Moffatt, Zhao, Kales and Hébert.)