Longitudinal associations between fast food outlet count and inflammatory markers in the US-based nurses' health study II between 1998 and 2011

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Inflammation is an established cardiovascular disease risk factor, but its role in the link between food environments and cardiovascular risk remains unexplored. We aimed to study longitudinal associations between residential fast food outlets (FFOs) and inflammatory markers in US females from the Nurses' Health Study II with stored blood and residential addresses.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We counted FFOs within 1500-m buffers around each address in 1998 and 2010. In samples collected at two time points (1999, 2011), we measured C-reactive protein (CRP, N = 1350), Interleukin-6 (IL-6, N = 809), and adiponectin (N = 836). We performed multivariable linear regression with repeated measures to study changes in FFOs and inflammatory markers and multivariable linear regression analyses to study FFOs count in 1998 and changes in inflammatory markers between 1999 and 2011. Models were adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, partners' education, smoking, neighborhood socioeconomic status (nSES), and population density. We explored effect modification by nSES and population density. No associations were observed in linear mixed models (e.g., CRP (β: 0.00, 95 %CI: 0.01,0.01) or in linear models including changes in inflammatory outcomes (e.g., CRP (β:0.00, 95 %CI: 0.01, 0.02). We also observed no effect modification for nSES or population density.

CONCLUSION: In conclusion, we found no evidence for longitudinal associations between FFOs count and inflammatory markers in this study.