Dietary Inflammatory Index scores are associated with atherogenic risk in Brazilian schoolchildren.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship of the Children's Dietary Inflammatory Index (C-DIITM) scores with atherogenic risk in Brazilian schoolchildren. DESIGN Cross-sectional representative study. Three 24-hour dietary recalls were performed to evaluate food consumption and to calculate C-DII scores. Blood samples were collected for the lipid profile analysis (serum total cholesterol, HDL-c, LDL-c, VLDL-c, triglycerides) and to determine the atherogenic indexes (Castelli risk indexes I and II, lipoprotein combine index - LCI, atherogenic index of plasma - AIP, atherogenic coefficient - AC). A semi-structured questionnaire was applied to obtain sociodemographic characteristics and screen time. Body fat was assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). We compared the distributions of outcomes by C-DII categories with multivariable linear regression. SETTING Vicosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil. PARTICIPANTS 378 children between the ages of 8 and 9 years. RESULTS The mean C-DII score was 0.60 ± 0.94 and the prevalence of dyslipidemia was 70%. Children with hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia presented higher C-DII scores. The C-DII was directly associated with atherogenic risk. Every 1 SD of C-DII was associated to a 0.07 (0.01, 0.13), 1.94 (0.20, 3.67), 0.06 (0.002, 0.12), 0.12 (0.02, 0.22) unit higher TC/HDL-c ratio, LCI, AC, and accumulation of altered dyslipidemia markers (high TC + high LDL-c + high TG + low HDL-c), respectively. CONCLUSIONS Dietary inflammatory potential, as estimated by the C-DII, is directly associated with atherogenic risk in Brazilian schoolchildren reinforcing the importance of effective nutritional policies to promote healthy eating habits and improve children's lipid profiles.