Association between Dietary Pattern, Lifestyle, Anthropometric Status, and Anemia-Related Biomarkers among Adults: A Population-Based Study from 2001 to 2015

Inadequate dietary intake, poor nutritional status, heavy smoking, and alcohol consumption are associated with the risk of anemia. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between dietary patterns, lifestyle, nutritional status, and anemia-related biomarkers among adults using a multivariable regression model. Taiwanese adults aged 20-45 years (n = 118,924, 43,055 men and 75,869 women) were obtained from the Mei Jau Health Management Institution database, between 2001 and 2015, for data analysis. The anemia-inflammation-related dietary pattern was derived by reduced rank regression analysis. Dietary patterns with high intakes of eggs, meat, organ meats, rice or flour products, fried foods, sugary beverages, and processed foods significantly increased the risk of anemia, and was associated with decreased hemoglobin, hematocrit, and red blood cells, but increased white blood cells and C-reactive protein levels. Moreover, current alcohol drinkers, as well as people who were underweight, overweight, obese, and central obese, were more likely to increase their risk of anemia by 46%, 20%, 23%, 34%, and 28%, respectively. Interestingly, participants who are current or past smokers were inversely associated with risk of anemia. In conclusion, adherence to the anemia-inflammation dietary pattern was associated with an increased risk of anemia in Taiwanese adults. Furthermore, abnormal weight status and alcohol drinking were correlated with an increased risk of anemia.

Automated summary

The study found that anemia in Taiwanese adults is associated with dietary patterns, lifestyle, and nutritional status. The ingestion of eggs, meat, organ meats, rice or flour products, fried foods, sugary beverages, and processed foods increased the risk of anemia, while weight status and alcohol consumption were also correlated with an increased risk.