Healthy dietary patterns are associated with lower concentrations of growth differentiation factor 15 in older adults

Background: Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) is a biomarker for aging and chronic disease burden that may capture the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects attributed to healthy diets. Objective: The aim was to examine whether several healthy dietary patterns and a lower inflammatory potential of diet are associated with lower concentrations of GDF-15 in older adults. Methods: We used cross-sectional data from 2501 older adults participating in the Seniors-ENRICA-2 study. Four diet indices were derived from habitual food consumption estimated with a validated diet history: Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS), Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010 (AHEI-2010), Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), and Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII). Associations of these indices with GDF15 concentrations were analyzed using linear regression models and adjusted for risk factors and biomarkers associated with chronic disease. Results: There was a clear dose-response association between all dietary patterns and serum GDF-15 concentrations; the GDF-15 mean reductions (95% CI) per 1-SD increment in the diet indices were 1.6% (0.1%, 3.1%) for the MEDAS, 2.1% (0.5%, 3.7%) for the AHEI-2010, and 1.6% (0.1%, 3.2%) for the DASH, whereas a mean GDF-15 increase of 1.7% (0.2%, 3.4%) was observed per 1-SD increment in the DII. In analyses excluding fruit and vegetable components from the diet indices, the association for the MEDAS and the AHEI-2010 remained but was attenuated for the DASH. Analyses excluding participants with cardiovascular disease or diabetes rendered very similar results. Conclusions: A higher adherence to several healthy dietary patterns and a lower inflammatory potential of diet were related to lower concentrations of GDF-15 in older adults, suggesting that improving diet quality may reduce inflammation and possibly promote healthy aging.