Serum hs-CRP varies with dietary cholesterol, but not dietary fatty acid intake in individuals free of any history of cardiovascular disease

The objective of this study was to investigate whether serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) concentration varies with dietary fatty acid intake in Iranian adults free of any history of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This cross-sectional study involved 8105 adults (3142 men) aged 35-65 years. Dietary intake was assessed using 24-h dietary recalls. The relationship between anthropometric, cardiometabolic risk factors and dietary data and serum hs-CRP was assessed using SPSS software. Median crude dietary saturated fat decreased across hs-CRP quarters (P=0.009 for linear trend), whereas energy-adjusted total fat (P=0.017), trans-fat (P=0.016), monounsaturated fatty acids (P=0.030) and cholesterol (P=0.005) monotonically increased, with some evidence of statistical interactions by gender. In conclusion, serum hs-CRP concentrations were associated with some components of dietary fatty acid intake in our population of individuals without CVD, suggesting that dietary fat intake could be associated with subclinical inflammation.