Designing and developing a literature-derived, population-based dietary inflammatory index

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To design and develop a literature-derived, population-based dietary inflammatory index (DII) to compare diverse populations on the inflammatory potential of their diets. DESIGN: Peer-reviewed primary research articles published through December 2010 on the effect of diet on inflammation were screened for possible inclusion in the DII scoring algorithm. Qualifying articles were scored according to whether each dietary parameter increased (+1), decreased (-1) or had no (0) effect on six inflammatory biomarkers: IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α and C-reactive protein. SETTING: The Dietary Inflammatory Index Development Study was conducted in the Cancer Prevention and Control Program of the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC, USA from 2011 to 2012. RESULTS: A total of ≈650