Abstract
Purpose
This prospective study explores high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels in relation to dietary patterns at two time points in European children.
Methods
Out of the baseline sample of the IDEFICS study (n = 16,228), 4020 children, aged 2–9 years at baseline, with available hs-CRP levels and valid data from a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) at baseline (T0) and 2 years later (T1) were included. K-means clustering algorithm based on the similarities between relative food consumption frequencies of the FFQ was applied. hs-CRP was dichotomized according to sex-specific cutoff points. Multilevel logistic regression was performed to assess the relationship between dietary patterns and hs-CRP adjusting for covariates.
Results
Three consistent dietary patterns were found at T0 and T1: ‘animal protein and refined carbohydrate’, ‘sweet and processed’ and ‘healthy’. Children allocated to the ‘protein’ and ‘sweet and processed’ clusters at both time points had significantly higher odds of being in the highest category of hs-CRP (OR 1.47; 95% CI 1.03–2.09 for ‘animal protein and refined carbohydrate’ and OR 1.44; 95% CI 1.08–1.92 for ‘sweet and processed’) compared to the ‘healthy’ cluster. The odds remained significantly higher for the ‘sweet and processed’ pattern (OR 1.39; 95% CI 1.05–1.84) when covariates were included.
Conclusions
A dietary pattern characterized by frequent consumption of sugar and processed products and infrequent consumption of vegetables and fruits over time was independently related with inflammation in European children. Efforts to improve the quality of the diet in childhood may prevent future diseases related with chronic inflammation.
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Acknowledgements
This work was done as part of the IDEFICS Study and was published on behalf of its European Consortium (http://www.idefics.eu). The information in this document reflects the author’s view and is provided as is. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the European Community within the Sixth RTD Framework Programme Contract No. 016181 (FOOD).
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J. M. Fernández-Alvira and L. A. M. Aznar equally contributed to this work.
Electronic supplementary material
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394_2017_1419_MOESM1_ESM.png
Supplementary figure 1. Z-Scores of relative consumption frequencies in the ‘healthy’ pattern in baseline (T0). Highest mean values per food item in comparison with the other two patterns. (PNG 199 KB)
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Supplementary figure 2. Z-Scores of relative consumption frequencies in the ‘healthy’ pattern in baseline (T0). Lowest mean values per food item in comparison with the other two patterns. (PNG 208 KB)
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Supplementary figure 3. Z-Scores of relative consumption frequencies in the ‘healthy’ pattern in follow-up (T1). Highest mean values per food item in comparison with the other two patterns. (PNG 171 KB)
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Supplementary figure 4. Z-Scores of relative consumption frequencies in the ‘healthy’ pattern in follow-up (T1). Lowest mean values per food item in comparison with the other two patterns. (PNG 186 KB)
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Supplementary figure 5. Z-Scores of relative consumption frequencies in the ‘animal protein and refined carbohydrate’ pattern in baseline (T0). Highest mean values per food item in comparison with the other two patterns. (PNG 196 KB)
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Supplementary figure 6. Z-Scores of relative consumption frequencies in the ‘animal protein and refined carbohydrate’ pattern in baseline (T0). Lowest mean values per food item in comparison with the other two patterns. (PNG 177 KB)
394_2017_1419_MOESM7_ESM.png
Supplementary figure 7. Z-Scores of relative consumption frequencies in the ‘animal protein and refined carbohydrate’ pattern in follow-up (T1). Highest mean values per food item in comparison with the other two patterns. (PNG 204 KB)
394_2017_1419_MOESM8_ESM.png
Supplementary figure 8. Z-Scores of relative consumption frequencies in the ‘animal protein and refined carbohydrate’ pattern in follow-up (T1). Lowest mean values per food item in comparison with the other two patterns. (PNG 181 KB)
394_2017_1419_MOESM9_ESM.png
Supplementary figure 9. Z-Scores of relative consumption frequencies in the ‘sweet and processed’ pattern in baseline (T0). Highest mean values per food item in comparison with the other two patterns. (PNG 226 KB)
394_2017_1419_MOESM10_ESM.png
Supplementary figure 10. Z-Scores of relative consumption frequencies in the ‘sweet and processed’ pattern in baseline (T0). Lowest mean values per food item in comparison with the other two patterns. (PNG 173 KB)
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Supplementary figure 11. Z-Scores of relative consumption frequencies in the ‘sweet and processed’ pattern in follow-up (T1). Highest mean values per food item in comparison with the other two patterns. (PNG 243 KB)
394_2017_1419_MOESM12_ESM.png
Supplementary figure 12. Z-Scores of relative consumption frequencies in the ‘sweet and processed’ pattern in follow-up (T1). Lowest mean values per food item in comparison with the other two patterns. (PNG 179 KB)
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González-Gil, E.M., Tognon, G., Lissner, L. et al. Prospective associations between dietary patterns and high sensitivity C-reactive protein in European children: the IDEFICS study. Eur J Nutr 57, 1397–1407 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-017-1419-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-017-1419-x