| dc.description.abstract | Background: Although high dietary polyphenol intake is negatively associated with risk of certain inflammation-
associated chronic diseases, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood and few studies have explored this in
adolescents.
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the association between intakes of total polyphenols, polyphenol classes,
and the 10 most commonly consumed individual polyphenols with inflammatory biomarkers in the blood of European
adolescents.
Methods: In the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) Study, 526 adolescents (54% girls;
12.5–17.5 y) had data on inflammatory biomarkers and polyphenol intake from 2 nonconsecutive 24-h recalls via matching
with the Phenol-Explorer database. Inflammatory biomarkers in serum were IL-1, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, transforming
growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), TNF-α, IFN-γ , soluble vascular adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM-1), soluble intercellular adhesion
molecule 1 (sICAM-1), soluble E-selectin (sE-selectin), white blood cells, lymphocytes, T cells, and C-reactive protein.
Multilevel linear models were used to test associations of polyphenol intake with a pro/anti-inflammatory biomarker ratio
[(zTNF-α + zIL-6 + zIL-1)/3/zIL-10] as well as with separate inflammatory biomarkers, adjusted for sociodemographic
variables, diet inflammation index, BMI z score, and serum triglycerides.
Results: The pro/anti-inflammatory biomarker ratio was linearly inversely associated with the intake of total polyphenols
(β = −0.11, P = 0.040). When other inflammation biomarkers were considered, the serum IL-10 concentration was
inversely associated with total polyphenol (β = −0.12, P = 0.017) and flavonoid (β = −0.12, P = 0.013) intakes, findings
that were inconsistent with the biomarker ratio results. However, the anti-inflammatory capacity of polyphenols was
confirmed by positive associations of IL-4 with phenolic acid (β = 0.09 P = 0.049) and stilbene (β = 0.13, P = 0.019)
intakes and the negative association of IL-1, IL-2, and IFN-γ with lignan intake (β = −0.10, P = 0.034; β = −0.09,
P = 0.049; β = −0.11, P = 0.023).
Conclusions: The negative relation with the overall pro/anti-inflammatory biomarker ratio suggests a potential anti-
inflammatory role of high polyphenol intakes among European adolescents. Nevertheless, associations are dependent
on polyphenol type and the inflammatory biomarker measured. J Nutr 2020;150:1610–1618. | en_US |
