Osong Public Health Res Perspect.  2023 Feb;14(1):51-58. 10.24171/j.phrp.2022.0194.

Association between the empirical dietary inflammatory index and musculoskeletal pain in community-dwelling older adults: a cross-sectional study

• Rezaei M
• Tajary Z
• Esmaeily Z
• Eyvazkhani A
• Daei S
• Dara MM
• Rezaei M
• Djazayeri A
• Motlagh AD

• KMID: 2540307
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.24171/j.phrp.2022.0194

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.

Keyword

Elderly; Empirical dietary inflammatory index; Inflammation; Musculoskeletal pain