Proinflammatory diet, higher habitual salt intake tied to increased risk of type 2 diabetes: Study

The findings published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism journal emphasize the importance of promoting healthy eating habits and reducing high-salt foods intake to prevent T2D and improve public health.

"Participants who followed a proinflammatory diet had an 18% higher risk of type 2 diabetes than those who adhered to an anti-inflammatory diet, after accounting for all confounding factors," the researchers reported.

In the fully adjusted model, participants who reported always adding salt to foods had a higher T2D (HR, 1.30) risk than those who never or rarely added salt.

The study was conducted by Ningjian Wang, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China, and colleagues to explore the relationship between proinflammatory diet, habitual salt intake and the onset of type 2 diabetes.

For this purpose, the researchers conducted a prospective study among 171 094 UK Biobank participants who completed at least one 24-hour dietary questionnaire and were free of diabetes at baseline. The participants were followed up until March 1, 2023, for T2D incidence, with diagnosis information obtained from linked medical records.

Based on 28 food parameters, an Energy-adjusted Diet Inflammatory Index (E-DII) was calculated. Habitual salt intake was determined through the self-reported frequency of salt addition to foods. The Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to test the associations between E-DII, habitual salt intake, and type 2 diabetes incidence.

The study led to the following findings:

• Over a median follow-up period of 13.5 years, 6216 cases of type 2 diabetes were documented.
• Compared with participants with a low E-DII (indicative of an anti-inflammatory diet), participants with a high E-DII (indicative of a pro-inflammatory diet) had an 18% heightened risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
• The association between E-DII and type 2 diabetes tends to be linear after adjustment for major confounders.
• Participants with a proinflammatory diet and always adding salt to foods had the highest risk of type 2 diabetes incidence (hazard ratio 1.60).

In conclusion, the findings indicate that a higher habitual salt intake and proinflammatory diet were associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

"These results support the public health promotion of an anti-inflammatory diet and reducing salt intake to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes," the researchers concluded.

Reference:

Shen W, Cai L, Wang B, Li J, Sun Y, Chen Y, Xia F, Wang N, Lu Y. Associations of a proinflammatory diet, habitual salt intake, and the onset of type 2 diabetes: A prospective cohort study from the UK Biobank. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2024 Feb 26. doi: 10.1111/dom.15517. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38409502.