The relationship between dietary inflammatory index, visceral adiposity index, biochemical parameters and Type 2 diabetes risk of preobese and above individuals

Background and Aim: Obesity has been grouped as the most important and significant risk factor for the improvement and progression of type 2 diabetes. It is stated that low-grade chronic care may cause obesity, which may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. In this context, the present study aimed to examine the relationship between the dietary inflammatory index, visceral adiposity index, and blood biochemical parameters with the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in individuals classified as overweight or obese. Material and Methods: This study was conducted between March 2025 and April 2025 with a total of 190 participants—137 women and 53 men—aged between 18 and 65 years, who applied to the Nutrition Outpatient Clinic of Edirne Sultan 1. Murat State Hospital and agreed to participate. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a 20-item questionnaire that included sociodemographic characteristics, dietary habits, anthropometric measurements, and selected blood biochemical parameters. In addition, 24-hour dietary recall records were obtained from the participants. The Dietary Inflammatory Index (Dİİ) was calculated based on the dietary intake data, while the Visceral Adiposity Index (VAİ) was calculated using waist circumference, BMI, HDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. The short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to assess physical activity levels. To evaluate the participants' risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISC) questionnaire was administered. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 27, and the statistical significance level was set at p<0.05. Results: The mean age of the study participants was found to be 36.08 ± 12.35 years. The average Body Mass Index (BMI) of the individuals was 33.44 ± 4.94 kg/m², with 29.5% classified as pre-obese, 36.3% as class I obese, 24.2% as class II obese, and 10% as class III obese. Among the participants, 64.7% followed a pro-inflammatory diet, 32.6% a neutral diet, and 2.6% an anti-inflammatory diet, with Dietary Inflammatory Index (Dİİ) scores ranging from -1.5 to 3.1. The Dİİ scores of female participants were statistically significantly higher xii than those of males (p<0.001). The mean Visceral Adiposity Index (VAİ) score was 6.24 ± 3.93. The mean total International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) score was 1165.30 ± 470.77 MET-min/week, with 77.4% of the participants classified as minimally active, 8.4% as inactive, and 14.2% as very active. The mean Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISC) was 14.72 ± 4.77, with 9.5% of individuals categorized as having a very high risk, 43.7% high, 21.6% moderate, 20% low, and 5.3% very low risk of developing type 2 diabetes. A 19.2% decrease in FINDRISC scores was observed as total IPAQ scores increased (p<0.01). Additionally, BMI was positively and significantly associated with FINDRISC scores (p<0.001). However, Dİİ and VAİ scores were not found to have a statistically significant effect on FINDRISC scores (p>0.05). Conclusion: In this study, no statistically significant relationship was found between individuals' Dietary Inflammatory Index (Dİİ) scores, Visceral Adiposity Index (VAİ) scores, and FINDRISC diabetes risk scores. In order to more clearly elucidate the associations between the Dietary Inflammatory Index, Visceral Adiposity Index, and type 2 diabetes risk in pre-obese and obese individuals, there is a need for prospective and comprehensive studies with larger sample sizes.