Medizinische Universität Graz - Research portal
Selected Publication:
Lindner, I.
Development of a national specific dietary inflammatory index assessment tool and its clinical application - The "Food Record.Immuno"
Humanmedizin; [ Diplomarbeit ] Medizinische Universität Graz; 2022. pp.
- Authors Med Uni Graz:
- Advisor:
- Holasek Sandra Johanna
- Lackner Sonja
- Altmetrics:
- Abstract:
- Background. Nutrition has a great influence on human acute and chronic inflammatory processes and therefore also on many diseases such as adiposity, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases or some types of cancer. Thus, the inflammatory potential of the individual’s dietary choices may be important in clinical practice. The Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) has been established recently to evaluate the pro- and anti-inflammatory impact of nutrition. In order to calculate this index, certain food items and nutrients need to be considered, that have not been available in the widely used Austrian food databases. Aim. The goal was to develop and test an add-on tool (Food Record.Immuno) to the Austrian specific nutritional assessment to enable the DII calculation. Methods. To collect dietary intake information the food frequency questionnaire “Vienna Food Record” was reviewed and expanded with food items such as herbs and spices needed for the DII calculation. The nutritional software “nut.s” that comprises the nutrient composition information of the food items and is commonly used for nutrient analysis was complemented with relevant nutrients for DII calculation, including polyphenols, carotenoids, trans fatty acids and caffeine. For this purpose, a literature research was conducted, using scientific databases and publications. The developed tool was tested in a clinical intervention study including a verum (V) and placebo (P) group. Relevance. This add-on contributes to evaluate the impact of diet on inflammatory processes and to personalized dietary research in preventive and therapeutic nutrition. Results. The Food Record.Immuno was successfully developed. The DII scores of the study population ranged from -10.52 to +0.56. The DII did not differ between the two study groups at baseline (V: Md = -1.14, IQR: 2.80, P: Md = -1.22, IQR = 1.84; p= 0.429) but changed slightly over the course of the intervention in the placebo group (p=0.012). The verum group did not change over the intervention period (p=0.494). Conclusion. The newly developed Food Record.Immuno adapted for the Austrian population enables to calculate the DII score easily. It is a promising tool to evaluate the diet’s inflammatory impact according to the evidence based knowledge on dietary components and their impact on health outcomes. Still, further research is needed to further establish and refine the tool. The next steps will include a validation study on the add on tool.