Associations Between Dietary Fiber and Inflammation, Hepatic Function, and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Older Men: Potential mechanisms for the benefits of fiber on diabetes risk |
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| Authors: | S Goya Wannamethee Peter H Whincup Mary C Thomas and Naveed Sattar |
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| Institution: | 1Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College Medical School, Hampstead Campus, University College London, London, U.K.; ;2British Heart Foundation, Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, U.K.; ;3Division of Community Health Sciences, St George''s, University of London, London, U.K. |
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| Abstract: | OBJECTIVETo examine the relationship between dietary fiber and the risk of type 2 diabetes in older men and the role of hepatic and inflammatory markers.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSThe study was performed prospectively and included 3,428 nondiabetic men (age 60–79 years) followed up for 7 years, during which there were 162 incident cases of type 2 diabetes.RESULTSLow total dietary fiber (lowest quartile ≤20 g/day) was associated with increased risk of diabetes after adjustment for total calorie intake and potential confounders (relative risk ?1.47 95% CI 1.03–2.11]). This increased risk was seen separately for both low cereal and low vegetable fiber intake. Dietary fiber was inversely associated with inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein, interleukin-6) and with tissue plasminogen activator and γ-glutamyl transferase. Adjustment for these markers attenuated the increased risk (1.28 0.88–1.86]).CONCLUSIONSDietary fiber is associated with reduced diabetes risk, which may be partly explained by inflammatory markers and hepatic fat deposition.Several prospective cohort studies have observed a protective effect of dietary fiber on the risk of type 2 diabetes (1–4). However, this has not been observed in all studies (4), and the biological mechanisms by which dietary fiber may be beneficial for diabetes are unclear. Several studies have shown inverse associations between dietary fiber and markers of inflammation, insulin sensitivity, and hepatic function (5–8), factors that have been linked to the development of diabetes in other studies (9). It has been suggested that dietary fiber may reduce diabetes risk through its effect on hepatic function and insulin sensitivity or by mediating the proinflammatory process (5,6). However, these possibilities have not been examined in detail. We assessed the prospective relationship between dietary fiber and the risk of type 2 diabetes in older men and evaluated whether this relationship is associated with serum inflammatory marker (interleukin-6 IL-6] and C-reactive protein CRP]) levels and hepatic function (γ-glutamyl transferase GGT]). |
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