Abstract
BACKGROUND: Chronic inflammation is implicated in the development of colorectal cancer (CRC) and its precursor; colorectal adenomatous polyps (CAP). Some dietary factors are important triggers for systemic inflammation. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the association between the dietary inflammatory index (DII(®)) and the risk of CRC and CAP in an Iranian case-control study. METHODS: 134 newly diagnosed CRC patients, 130 newly diagnosed CAP patients, and 240 hospitalized controls were recruited using convenience sampling. Energy-adjusted DII (E-DII) scores were computed based on dietary intake assessed using a reproducible and valid 148-item food frequency questionnaire. Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) after adjusting for confounders. RESULTS: The E-DII score ranged between -4.23 (the most anti-inflammatory score) to +3.89 (the most pro-inflammatory score). The multivariable-adjusted ORs for participants in the 3(rd) tertile compared to the 1(st) tertile was 5.08 (95%CI: 2.70-9.56; P-trend < 0.0001) for CRC and 2.33 (95% CI: 1.30-4.02; P-trend = 0.005) for CAP. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that more pro-inflammatory diets, indicated by higher E-DII scores, might increase the risk of both CRC and CAP. Future steps should include testing these associations in a prospective setting in Iran.