Association of diet quality with serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level and the adherence to the Saudi dietary guidelines among female college students

Objective: Assess adherence to the Saudi Dietary Guidelines and identify the diet quality using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2015), and measure levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), an indicator of the risk of chronic diseases, among female Saudi college students. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 401 randomly selected female students aged 19-35 years at [re-moved for blind peer review]. Data from an interview-based Saudi Food Frequency Questionnaire, health history, anthropometric measurements, and hs-CRP were collected. Multivariable linear regression anal-yses were used to examine the associations between HEI-2015 score and hs-CRP. Results: There was an overall low adherence (43%) to the Saudi Dietary Guidelines, higher intake of cer-eal, bread, meat and sodium, and lower intake of dairy products compared to recommended levels. The mean HEI-2015 score was (62.7 +/- 10.2), indicating poor diet quality, and the mean hs-CRP level was high (2.62 +/- 3.31 mg/l). The HEI-2015 score was inversely correlated with the hs-CRP level (r =-0.43) and body mass index (BMI, r =-0.23). A higher HEI-2015 score per 1 SD (10 points) was associated with-0.2 (95% CI:-0.4,-0.1 mg/l) lower hs-CRP, independent of lifestyle factors and BMI. Conclusion: Poor quality diet was associated with higher hs-CRP levels, an indicator of adverse health conditions. Further research and intervention studies to develop potential strategies to enhance positive dietary behavior changes are needed. (c) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).