PD484 - THE INFLAMMATORY AND ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL OF HABITUAL DIETS OF UNIVERSITY FEMALE ATHLETES

PD484

THE INFLAMMATORY AND ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL OF HABITUAL DIETS OF UNIVERSITY FEMALE ATHLETES

G. Van der Walt¹, L. Havemann-Nel¹, C. van der Merwe¹, I. Herter-Aeberli², J. Baumgartner³, M. A. Uyoga¹, Z. Zuma¹, L. Malan¹, A. Nienaber^1,*

¹Centre of Excellence for Nutrition, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa, ²Laboratory of Nutrition and Metabolic Epigenetics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, ³Department of Nutritional Sciences  , King’s College London , London, United Kingdom

Rationale: Chronic low-grade inflammation negatively affects athletes’ health, recovery, and immune function. Dietary intake can influence inflammation. The Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) and Dietary Antioxidant Quality Score (DAQS) assess the dietary inflammatory and antioxidant potential. However, studies in female athletes are limited. This study aimed to assess the dietary inflammatory and antioxidant potential and its relationship with systemic inflammation in female university athletes.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 72 female athletes from a university in South Africa. Habitual dietary intake was assessed using a quantified food frequency questionnaire. The energy-adjusted DII (EA-DII) was calculated and categorised into quartiles, and the DAQS was calculated. CRP and AGP were determined using Q-Plex Human Environmental Enteric Dysfunction (11-Plex)^TM assay and Q-View™ software. Associations of the EA-DII and DAQS with inflammatory markers were tested with partial Spearman correlations and logistic regression.

Results: The mean EA-DII was 0.88±1.90, indicating a slightly pro-inflammatory diet. The median DAQS was 3 (3–4), with over half of athletes scoring below 3.5, indicating a poor antioxidant intake. Athletes with the most anti-inflammatory diets consumed significantly more beta-carotene, fibre, folic acid, magnesium, riboflavin, thiamine, antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E, tea, flavones, flavonols and flavonones than those with pro-inflammatory diets. 82% of athletes had elevated AGP. For each one-score unit increase in the DAQS, participants tended to have 98% lower odds of elevated AGP (p=0.056). 

Conclusion: South African female university athletes’ habitual diets were slightly pro-inflammatory with a poor antioxidant quality, which is potentially associated with chronic inflammation, highlighting the need for dietary intervention strategies for female university athletes.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared