Associations between Diet Quality, Body Composition and Inflammatory Markers in Older Overweight and Obese African American Adults with Self-Reported Osteoarthriti

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of immobility in the United States and is associated with older age, inflammation, and obesity. Prudent dietary patterns have been associated with disease prevention, yet little evidence exists describing diet quality (DQ) in older overweight or obese African American (AA) adults with OA and its relation to body composition. We conducted a secondary data analysis on 143 AA adults (12% male, 60--87 years) to describe the relationships between DQ, body composition and inflammation in older AA adults with OA. Our sample had poor DQ according to four DQ indexes. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) was significantly correlated with alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010 (aHEI-2010) in females and C-reactive protein with aHEI-2010 and alternate Mediterranean Diet (aMED) in males. We found that aHEI-2010 was a predictor of inflammation (IL-6) only in females (OR: 0.95, 95% CI 0.92--0.99, p = 0.006). Our findings suggest that higher DQ might decrease inflammation in older AA adults with OA.