Dietary Inflammatory Index Scores Differ by Shift Work Status

OBJECTIVE: Shift workers are affected by diet- and inflammation-related diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. We examined a dietary inflammatory index (DII) in relation to shift work from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data (2005 to 2010). METHODS: The DII was calculated using data from a 24-hour dietary recall. Shift work categories included day workers, evening/night shift workers, or rotating shift workers. General linear models were fit to examine the relationship between shift work and adjusted mean DII values. RESULTS: Among all shift workers and specifically rotating shift workers, higher (ie, more pro-inflammatory) mean DII scores (1.01 and 1.07 vs 0.86; both P ≤ 0.01) were observed compared with day workers. Women tended to express strong evening/night shift effects. CONCLUSIONS: More proinflammatory diets observed among shift workers may partially explain increased inflammation-related chronic disease risk observed in other studies among shift workers compared with their day-working counterparts.