Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jan 25;13(2):356.
doi: 10.3390/nu13020356.

Associations of Dietary Intake on Biological Markers of Inflammation in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Melissa Bujtor  1 , Anne I Turner  1 , Susan J Torres  1 , Laura Esteban-Gonzalo  2 , Carmine M Pariante  3 , Alessandra Borsini  3
Affiliations

Associations of Dietary Intake on Biological Markers of Inflammation in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Melissa Bujtor et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Background: In children and adolescents, chronic low-grade inflammation has been implicated in the pathogenesis of co- and multi-morbid conditions to mental health disorders. Diet quality is a potential mechanism of action that can exacerbate or ameliorate low-grade inflammation; however, the exact way dietary intake can regulate the immune response in children and adolescents is still to be fully understood.

Methods: Studies that measured dietary intake (patterns of diet, indices, food groups, nutrients) and any inflammatory biomarkers in children and adolescents aged 2 to19 years and published until November 2020 were included in this systematic review, and were selected in line with PRISMA guidelines through the following databases: Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, Global Health, Medline COMPLETE and Web of Science-Core Collection. A total of 53 articles were identified.

Results: Results show that adequate adherence to healthful dietary patterns such as the Mediterranean diet, or food groups such as vegetables and fruit, or macro/micro nutrients such as fibre or vitamin C and E, are associated with decreased levels of pro-inflammatory biomarkers, mainly c-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), whereas adherence to a Western dietary pattern, as well as intake of food groups such as added sugars, macro-nutrients such as saturated fatty acids or ultra-processed foods, is associated with higher levels of the same pro-inflammatory biomarkers.

Conclusions: This is the first systematic review examining dietary intake and biological markers of inflammation in both children and adolescents. A good quality diet, high in vegetable and fruit intake, wholegrains, fibre and healthy fats ameliorates low-grade inflammation, and therefore represents a promising therapeutic approach, as well as an important element for disease prevention in both children and adolescents.

Keywords: CRP; adolescent; biomarkers; children; cytokine; dietary intake; dietary pattern; inflammation; interleukin; macronutrients.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study selection flow chart including reasons for exclusion of studies during full text screening.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Association between dietary intake and biomarkers of inflammation in children and adolescents.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Calder P.C., Ahluwalia N., Brouns F., Buetler T., Clement K., Cunningham K., Esposito K., Jö Nsson L.S., Kolb H., Lansink M., et al. Dietary factors and low-grade inflammation in relation to overweight and obesity commissioned by the ILSI Europe Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes Task Force. Br. J. Nutr. 2011;106:S1–S78. doi: 10.1017/S0007114511005460. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Minihane A.M., Vinoy S., McArdle H.J., Kremer B.H.A., Sterkman L., Vafeiadou K., Benedetti M.M., Williams C.M., Calder P.C., Russell W.R., et al. Low-grade inflammation, diet composition and health: Current research evidence and its translation. Br. J. Nutr. 2015;114:999–1012. doi: 10.1017/S0007114515002093. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Giacobbe J., Benoiton B., Zunszain P., Pariante C.M., Borsini A. The Anti-Inflammatory Role of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Metabolites in Pre-Clinical Models of Psychiatric, Neurodegenerative, and Neurological Disorders. Front. Psychiatry. 2020;11 doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00122. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kiecolt-Glaser J.K., Derry H.M., Fagundes C.P. Inflammation: Depression Fans the Flames and Feasts on the Heat. Am. J. Psychiatry. 2015;172:1075–1091. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.15020152. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zunszain P.A., Hepgul N., Pariante C.M. Springer; Berlin, Germany: 2012. Inflammation and Depression. Behavioral Neurobiology of Depression and its Treatment; pp. 135–151.

Publication types