Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.
Cancer Prevention and Control Program, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
Nutrients. 2021 Apr 26;13(5):1464. doi: 10.3390/nu13051464.
Chronic stress is known to influence dietary choices, and stressed families often report poorer diet quality; however, little is known about how family-based stress is linked with dietary patterns that promote inflammation. This study investigated associations between family-based stress and the inflammatory potential of the diet among preschool-aged children and their parents. Parents ( = 212 mothers, = 146 fathers) and children ( = 130 girls, = 123 boys; aged 18 months to 5 years) from 241 families participating in the Guelph Family Health Study were included in the analyses. Parents reported levels of parenting distress, depressive symptoms, household chaos, and family functioning. The inflammatory potential of parents' and children's diets was quantified using the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII), adjusted for total energy intake (i.e., the E-DII). E-DII scores were regressed onto family stress using generalized estimating equations to account for shared variance among family clusters. Compared to those in homes with low chaos, parents in chaotic homes had significantly more proinflammatory dietary profiles ( = 0.973; 95% CI: 0.321, 1.624, = 0.003). Similarly, compared to those in well-functioning families, parents in dysfunctional families had significantly more proinflammatory dietary profiles ( = 0.967; 95% CI: 0.173, 1.761, = 0.02). No significant associations were found between parents' E-DII scores and parenting distress or depressive symptoms, nor were any associations found for children's E-DII scores. Results were not found to differ between males and females. Parents in chaotic or dysfunctional family environments may be at increased risk of chronic disease due to proinflammatory dietary profiles. Children's dietary inflammatory profiles were not directly associated with family stress; however, indirect connections through family food-related behaviours may exist. Future research should prioritize elucidating these mechanisms.
慢性压力已知会影响饮食选择，压力大的家庭通常报告饮食质量较差；然而，人们对家庭压力如何与促进炎症的饮食模式相关知之甚少。本研究调查了家庭压力与学龄前儿童及其父母饮食炎症潜力之间的关联。共有 241 个家庭的 212 位母亲、146 位父亲和 130 位女孩、123 位男孩（年龄在 18 个月至 5 岁之间）参与了圭尔夫家庭健康研究，他们的父母报告了育儿压力、抑郁症状、家庭混乱和家庭功能水平。父母和孩子的饮食炎症潜力使用饮食炎症指数（DII）进行量化，调整了总能量摄入（即 E-DII）。使用广义估计方程将 E-DII 评分回归到家庭压力上，以解释家庭群集中的共同方差。与家庭混乱程度低的家庭相比，家庭混乱程度高的父母饮食炎症谱明显更具促炎作用（ = 0.973；95%置信区间：0.321，1.624， = 0.003）。同样，与功能良好的家庭相比，功能失调的家庭中父母的饮食炎症谱明显更具促炎作用（ = 0.967；95%置信区间：0.173，1.761， = 0.02）。父母的 E-DII 评分与育儿压力或抑郁症状之间没有显著关联，也没有发现儿童的 E-DII 评分与家庭压力之间存在关联。男性和女性之间的结果没有差异。处于混乱或功能失调家庭环境中的父母可能由于促炎饮食模式而面临更高的慢性疾病风险。儿童的饮食炎症谱与家庭压力没有直接关联；然而，通过家庭与食物相关的行为可能存在间接联系。未来的研究应该优先阐明这些机制。
