Chronic low grade inflammation measured by dietary inflammatory index and its association with obesity among school teachers in Yangon, Myanmar

Background and Objectives: This study was aimed to investigate the association between obesity and chronic low grade inflammation (CLGI) measured by Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) as a proxy indicator of CLGI among obese and non-obese teachers. Methods and Study Design: We conducted a cross sectional study among 128 non-obese (BMI <25) and 116 obese (BMI >= 25) female teachers aged 25-60 years from six urban schools in Yangon, Myanmar between January and March 2015. Usual dietary intake was collected by 3-day nonconsecutive estimated 24 hour's dietary records and semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaires. Adapted DII was calculated by standardized methods using literature-derived population-based dietary inflammatory weights of 31 food parameters. C-reactive protein (CRP) was analysed by a sandwich Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) technique. Mean DII between obese and non-obese was compared by independent t test. The association between obesity indices and high DII (DII >= 1.1) and high CRP (>3 mg/L) were investigated by logistic regression. Results: Obese teachers had lower intakes of anti-inflammatory nutrients (vitamin B-6, vitamin A and zinc)/food (onion) compared with non-obese teachers (p<0.05) and obesity was significantly associated with CRP (Odd ratio (OR)=5.5, 95% Confidence interval (CI) 1.2-24.1, p=0.02). However, there was no significant association between obesity and DII (OR=1.4, 95% CI -0.8-2.3, p=0.23). Conclusions: Role of anti-inflammatory foods should be promoted for prevention of obesity and related diseases. Further use of DII among Myanmar general population for prevention of obesity and its related diseases should be explored with longitudinal studies.