Consumption of Korean Foods with High Flavonoid Contents Reduces the Likelihood of Having Elevated C-Reactive Protein Levels: Data from the 2015-2017 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Ham Ham,Kang Kang,Jun Jun,Shin Shin,Paik Paik,Joung Joung

doi:10.3390/nu11102370

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate associations between C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and Korean food (KF) consumption and flavonoid intake from the 2015–2017 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. A total of 6025 men and 8184 women (≥19 years) who completed a 24-h dietary recall and health examination were analyzed. The individual KF consumption rate was defined as the proportion of KF of total food consumed and categorized into tertiles. Odds ratios (ORs) for elevated CRP levels (>3.0 mg/L) according to KF consumption rate and flavonoid intake/dietary total antioxidant capacity (TAC) (<median; ≥median) were obtained by multiple logistic regression. KF consumption was inversely associated with CRP levels in women (p = 0.0236) and positively associated with flavonoid intake/dietary TAC in both sexes (p < 0.0001). Compared to women who consumed less than the median amount of flavonoid or TAC with KF consumption rates in the lowest tertile, those who consumed more flavonoid (OR = 0.59, 95% CI 0.42–0.83) or TAC (OR = 0.58, 95% CI 0.41–0.82) in the highest tertile showed significantly lower ORs for elevated CRP levels. Thus, consuming KFs rich in flavonoid is effective for regulating CRP levels.

Highlights

Inflammation is an early step in immunity to protect against metabolic disturbances caused by infection [1]
Among men, elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were associated with lower household incomes (p < 0.0001) and lower education levels (p = 0.0002) relative to normal CRP levels, but the proportion of subjects reporting regular alcohol consumption was higher among those with normal CRP levels than those with elevated CRP levels (p = 0.0363)
The proportions of regular alcohol consumption decreased as Korean food (KF) consumption rate increased (p < 0.0001), but men showed no significant association

Summary

Introduction

Inflammation is an early step in immunity to protect against metabolic disturbances caused by infection [1]. Immune cells involved in inflammatory reaction destroy antigens by producing reactive oxygen species (ROS), but excessive accumulation of ROS due to prolonged inflammation can cause oxidative stress [2,3]. CRP levels have been positively associated with increased oxidative stress [8] and cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and hypertension [2,7,9]. As the prevalence of hypertension and dyslipidemia continues to rise [10] and cardiovascular diseases have come to be the second leading cause of deaths for Koreans in 2017 [11], it is necessary to elucidate the various factors that affect expression and regulation of CRP

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Discussion

Conclusion