Pro-inflammatory and pro-oxidant diets are associated with increased odds of cataracts and serum biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress: Hospital-based case-control study

Background: Oxidative stress and inflammation play an important role in cataracts' causal network. In this study, we used the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) and Dietary Antioxidant Index (DAI) to comprehensively examine the nutritional status related to inflammation and oxidative stress and investigate their association with the odds of cataracts. We hypothesize that higher DII scores (a pro-inflammatory diet) and lower DAI (a pro-oxidant diet) are associated with related serum biomarkers and increase the odds of cataracts.Methods: The study included 263 patients with cataracts and 326 healthy controls. A valid 168-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) evaluated the participants' dietary intake over the past year. DII and DAI were calculated based on FFQ, and blood/serum indicators, e.g., hs-CRP, TNF-a, etc., were extracted from patients' records.Results: Based on the multivariable linear regression models, there was a significant association between DII and hs-CRP (Beta = 0.095, CI95 %: 0.001-0.189) and between DAI and TNF-a (Beta = 0.494, CI95 %: 0.121-0.866) and LDL-C (Beta = 1.037, CI95 %: 0.159-1.915). In addition, in logistic regression models, after adjusting for multiple confounders, there was a significant association between DII (continuous variable) (OR = 1.27, CI95 %: 1.08-1.50) and DAI (continuous variable) (OR = 0.93, CI95 %: 0.87-0.99) and odds of cataracts.Conclusion: This study confirms the association between pro-inflammatory and pro-oxidant diets, as indicated by higher DII scores and lower DAI, with serum biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress. Our study supports the notion that dietary interventions targeting inflammation and oxidative stress may have a potential role in preventing or delaying the onset of cataracts.