Consumption of energy-dense diets in relation to metabolic syndrome and inflammatory markers in Iranian female nurses

Abstract

Objective: To examine the relationship between dietary energy density (DED) and risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS), its components and inflammatory markers. Design: Cross-sectional study. Dietary intakes were assessed using a validated dish-based semi-quantitative FFQ. DED was calculated by dividing energy intake (kcal/d) by the total weight of foods only (g/d). MetS was defined based on the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. All associations were examined in the quartiles of DED, with higher quartiles indicating more energy-dense diets. Setting: Isfahan, Iran. Subjects: Female nurses (n 1036) aged > 30 years. Results: After controlling for potential confounders, individuals in the top quartile of DED had 78 greater chance of MetS compared with those in the first (OR=178; 95 CI 136, 298; P < 0001). Individuals in the highest quartile of DED were more likely to be abdominally obese (OR=151; 95 CI 100, 263) and have hypertriacylglycerolaemia (OR=295; 95 CI 158, 391) and low HDL cholesterol levels (OR=136; 95 CI 117, 254) compared with those in the lowest quartile. Mean concentration of plasma high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) across increasing quartiles of DED was 17, 17, 20, 24 mg/l (P for trend=004). Such increasing concentrations across increasing quartiles of DED were also seen for TNF- (41, 45, 45, 48 ng/l; P for trend=003) and IL-6 (16, 16, 15, 25 ng/l; P for trend < 0.01). Conclusions: Consumption of high-energy-dense foods was associated with increased chance of MetS, most of its features and inflammatory markers including hs-CRP, TNF- and IL-6.