Prevalence and Prognostic Significance of Systemic Inflammation Index and Diet Quality in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Evidence from the Cohort Study of NHANES 2007-2018

Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2025 Sep 4:20:3093-3109. doi: 10.2147/COPD.S536178. eCollection 2025.

Abstract

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death worldwide. Previous studies have explored the relationship between different dietary patterns, systemic inflammation index (SII)and the risk of COPD. However, the joint effects and interactions between SII and HEI-2015 in COPD have not been fully investigated. This study aimed to explore the relationships between COPD and SII and HEI-2015.

Methods: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) were utilized.Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyzed the associations between SII and HEI-2015 with COPD. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) model analyzed the relationship between SII and HEI-2015 and COPD.Use the area enclosed under the ROC curve (AUC) to represent its predicted value. Interaction indices and subgroup analyses were performed. The Kaplan-Meier curve was used to evaluate the impact on mortality of COPD patients.

Results: This study included 10,898 participants.After adjusting,logistic regression analysis showed that higher SII (OR=1.03, 95% CI: 1.01-1.05) were associated with an increased risk of COPD, while higher HEI-2015 (OR=0.97, 95% CI: 0.96-0.99) reduced the risk.The RCS model observed a non-linear relationship between SII and HEI-2015 and COPD risk. Additionally, ROC showed a more significant advantage in predicting COPD prevalence (AUC=0.68). Interaction analysis indicated that SII and HEI-2015 might be independent influencing factors for COPD risk. Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed a lower all-cause mortality rate among in the group with high SII and low HEI-2015 (p < 0.0001).

Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that a higher SII level and a lower HEI-2015 are associated with COPD risk. COPD patients with higher SII levels combined with lower HEI - 2015 levels have a higher all-cause death risk.

Keywords: NHANES; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; dietary quality; systemic inflammation index.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Diet* / adverse effects
  • Diet, Healthy*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Inflammation* / diagnosis
  • Inflammation* / epidemiology
  • Inflammation* / mortality
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Nutrition Surveys
  • Prevalence
  • Prognosis
  • Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* / diagnosis
  • Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* / epidemiology
  • Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* / mortality
  • Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* / physiopathology
  • Risk Assessment
  • Risk Factors
  • Time Factors
  • United States / epidemiology