Adequate intake of plant protein foods and moderate intake of animal protein foods are inversely associated with C-reactive protein in US adults with diabetes: A cross-sectional study with National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

ABSTRACT Objective The aim of this study was to examine the association between score levels of the index components of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) density-based index and the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) for protein foods and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) level among US adults by diabetes status. Methods This cross-sectional study used data from adult participants (≥20 years old) in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005–2010 (n=12,070) to obtain hs-CRP levels and index scores among US adults. Odds ratios of having an elevated hs-CRP (>3.0 mg/L) by score levels of protein-food components (low: Results After adjusting for age group, gender, race/ethnicity, and other potential confounders, those with a low score were more likely to have an elevated hs-CRP level than those with a high score (DASH Plant Proteins and HEI-2015 Seafood and Plant Proteins: p Conclusions Moderate intake of animal protein foods and adequate intake of plant protein foods were inversely associated with an elevated hs-CRP level among US adults, especially among those with diabetes. Further investigation is required to establish ideal density-based amounts or proportions of protein-food subgroups.