Association between a Healthy Lifestyle Score and inflammatory markers among Puerto Rican adults.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS
The relationship between multiple lifestyle components analyzed in combination and inflammation remains understudied. We aimed to assess the association between a Healthy Lifestyle Score (HLS) that includes adherence to five behavioral components (diet, physical activity and sedentary behaviors, smoking, social support and network, and sleep) and inflammatory markers, as well as the role of the HLS in inflammation among individuals with cardiometabolic conditions, in Puerto Rican adults.


METHODS AND RESULTS
In a cross-sectional study of 842 Puerto Ricans adults (aged 45-75 y) living in Boston, MA, the HLS (range = 0-190; maximum indicative of healthiest adherence) was analyzed for association with three inflammatory markers: interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP). In multivariable-adjusted models, the HLS was inversely associated with IL-6 (β ± SE = -0.55 ± 0.13; P < 0.001) and TNF-α (-0.39 ± 0.13; P = 0.004). The dietary and smoking components were associated with both inflammatory markers independently of the other HLS components. Significant inverse associations were observed for each 20-unit increase in HLS and IL-6 and TNF-α for participants with hypertension (n = 600; β ± SE = -0.58 ± 0.16; -0.46 ± 0.16, respectively) and with overweight/obesity (n = 743; β ± SE = -0.59 ± 0.13; -0.50 ± 0.14, respectively), but not for those with diabetes (n = 187) or heart disease (n = 192). The HLS was not associated with CRP, after adjustment for potential confounders.


CONCLUSION
Higher adherence to multiple lifestyle behaviors was associated with lower concentrations of inflammatory markers. Because low-grade inflammation may precede chronic diseases, following an overall healthy lifestyle may help lower risk of these diseases.
['Sotos-Prieto|M|M|', 'Bhupathiraju|S N|SN|', 'Falcon|L M|LM|', 'Gao|X|X|', 'Tucker|K L|KL|', 'Mattei|J|J|']
D000368:Aged D015415:Biomarkers D001900:Boston D002097:C-Reactive Protein D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D000072001:Diet, Healthy D015444:Exercise D005260:Female D015438:Health Behavior D000070497:Healthy Lifestyle D006801:Humans D006973:Hypertension D007249:Inflammation D015850:Interleukin-6 D008297:Male D024821:Metabolic Syndrome D008875:Middle Aged D015596:Nutrition Assessment D009765:Obesity D011647:Puerto Rico D012307:Risk Factors D057185:Sedentary Behavior D012890:Sleep D012907:Smoking D012944:Social Support D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
Lifestyle score Inflammatory markers Hispanics