The pathogenesis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) remains unclear; however, inflammation is involved in PCOS progression and can be regulated by diet. We therefore hypothesized that diet may play an important role in the process of PCOS. This study aimed to investigate specific dietary patterns associated with PCOS through a case-control study involving 527 participants and conducted in Fuzhou, China. The dietary inflammatory index (DII) was calculated using a dietary frequency questionnaire, and the dietary pattern was obtained through a principal component analysis (PCA). Logistic regression was used for risk estimation, and the correlations were investigated by partial correlation analysis. The PCA identified a Mediterranean diet, a meat-egg diet, a shellfish-shrimp-dairy diet, and a staple food-soybean diet. The meat-egg (odds ratio [OR] = 1.404; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.163-1.695) and shellfish-shrimp-dairy (OR = 1.287; 95% CI, 1.057-1.568) diets increased the risk of PCOS. The Mediterranean diet (OR = 0.759; 95% CI, 0.624-0.922) was identified as a protective factor and was negatively correlated with the DII. The DII scores ranged from -4.64 to 4.79 and were positively correlated with the risk of PCOS (OR = 1.141; 95% CI, 1.050-1.240). After adjusting for covariates, the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and DII were positively correlated in PCOS (P < .001, P = .001, and P < .001, respectively). In conclusion, certain dietary patterns are associated with PCOS. Pro-inflammatory diets increase the risk of PCOS, and the DII was negatively correlated with the Mediterranean diet and positively correlated with the PLR, NLR, and SII.
Keywords: Dietary inflammatory index; Dietary pattern; Food frequency questionnaire; Inflammation markers; Polycystic ovary syndrome.
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