Habitual dietary intake and mediators of the inflammaging process in Brazilian older women.

AIM: This study aimed to assess whether the habitual intake of macronutrients by older women associates with circulating levels of important inflammaging mediators by means of a cross-sectional design with 229 Brazilian elderly women. METHODS: Laboratory tests determined serum IL1α, IL1ß, IL6, IL8, IL10, IL12 and TNFα by specific immunoassays. Food records of three alternate days were decomposed into usual intake of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids (and fractions), as well as total energy value (TEV) per patient. Moreover, the study has identified and controlled results for metabolic conditions known to influence the inflammatory profile: hypercholesterolemia, hypertension and diabetes. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Pearson's correlation test revealed that log10IL8 expressed a positive association with levels of saturated fatty acid (FA) (r = 0.173; p = 0.009) and total cholesterol intake (r = 0.223; p = 0.001). Similar analysis of the other mediators revealed no association with dietary intake. CONCLUSION: Higher intakes of total cholesterol and saturated FA seem to correlate with increased serum IL8 levels, being a possible mechanism by which this pro-atherogenic intake pattern may increase the risk of age-related chronic diseases with important inflammatory contribution.