Association Between the Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Index and Musculoskeletal Pain in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study Publisher



Rezaei M¹ ; Tajary Z² ; Esmaeily Z² ; Eyvazkhani A² ; Daei S¹ ; Dara MM¹ ; Rezaei M¹ ; Djazayeri A^{1, 2} ; Motlagh AD^{1, 2} Show Affiliations
Source: Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives Published:2023

Abstract

Objectives: Inflammation has been proposed to be one of the main causes of musculoskeletal pain. Diet is a lifestyle factor that plays an important role in managing inflammation; thus, we assessed the inflammatory potential of diets using the empirical dietary inflammatory index (EDII) to investigate the relationship between diet and musculoskeletal pain. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 212 elderly individuals who were selected from health centers in Tehran, Iran. Dietary intake was evaluated using a valid and reliable 147-item food frequency questionnaire. To measure the intensity of pain, a visual analogue scale was used. Multiple linear regression was applied to assess the association between the EDII and musculoskeletal pain. Results: In total, 62.7% and 37.3% of participants had mild and severe pain, respectively. The EDII values were 0.97±0.72 and 1.10±0.66, respectively, in those with mild and severe pain. A higher EDII score was associated with more intense musculoskeletal pain after adjusting for age and sex (β=0.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.06–0.26; p<0.001), but not after adjustment for other confounders (β=–0.13; 95% CI, –1.54 to 0.60; p=0.39). Conclusion: Our findings indicated that higher dietary inflammation might not be associated with musculoskeletal pain in older adults. However, further investigations are required to confirm these findings. © 2023 Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.