Association of a dietary inflammatory index with inflammatory indices and metabolic syndrome among police officers

Objectives: To determine whether the dietary inflammatory index (DII) is associated with inflammatory or metabolic biomarkers and metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) among police officers. Methods: Cross-sectional data from the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress study were derived from saliva and fasting blood samples, anthropometric measurements, long-term shiftwork histories, and demographic, stress/depression, and food frequency questionnaires (FFQs). Metabolic syndrome was defined using standard criteria. Results: Officers in DII quartiles 2 to 4 were more likely to exceed a threshold of 3.0 mg/L forC-reactive protein (odds ratio [OR]=1.88; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 1.02 to 3.45; OR = 2.17; 95% CI = 1.19 to 3.95; OR=1.57; 95% CI=0.85 to 2.88, respectively) compared with quartile 1. The glucose intolerance component of MetSyn was more prevalent among officers in DII quartile 4 than among those in quartile 1 (OR = 2.03; 95% CI = 1.08 to 3.82). Conclusions: A pro-inflammatory diet was associated with elevated CRP and with the glucose intolerance component of MetSyn.