Dietary Pattern Low in Fruits Explains Variations in Inflammation and in Biomarkers of Cardiovascular Disease in Latinos Diagnosed with Type-2 Diabetes.

Aims: 1) To identify a dietary pattern associated with plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) in Latinos diagnosed with T2D. 2) To examine whether the “pro-inflammation” dietary pattern obtained is associated with additional cardiovascular disease risk in this Latino population. Methodology: Reduced rank regression was used to determine the cross-sectional relationship between food patterns and plasma inflammatory biomarkers in Latinos (26 men/77 women, 32-76 y) diagnosed with type-2 diabetes (T2D). Reduced rank regression was used to create 3 dietary patterns from 33 food groups. We included IL-6, TNFα, and MCP-1 as response variables to derive 3 dietary patterns. Study Design: Cross-sectional. Place and Duration of Study: University of Connecticut, Hartford Hospital, and the Hispanic Health Council, between January 2010 and May 2011. Results: The first dietary pattern characterized by low intake of fruits and yellow vegetables and high intake of refined grains and sugar-free beverages explained the largest proportion of variance in inflammation markers. After adjusting for confounding factors including energy intake, statin treatment, waist circumference, glycosylated hemoglobin and blood pressure, IL-6 (P< 0.0001) and TNFα (P =0.0004) were positively associated with the first dietary pattern. Food groups that were negatively associated with inflammation markers were fruits and dark yellow vegetables, explaining 10.2% and 4.6% of the variance, respectively. This dietary pattern was also significantly associated with higher number of large VLDL particles (P < 0.05) after adjusting for WC, statins use and systolic blood pressure as well as higher concentrations of apolipoprotein A-2 after adjusting for WC and energy (P< 0.05). Conclusion: This dietary pattern may increase heart disease risk in this already challenged population.