A new study published in The Open Cardiovascular Medicine Journal has found that people newly diagnosed with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease — a condition in which arteries narrow and harden due to chronic low-grade inflammation — ate significantly more fat and followed more inflammation-promoting dietary patterns than their healthy counterparts. Researchers from Hamadan University of Medical Sciences in Iran compared the diets and activity levels of 103 newly diagnosed atherosclerosis patients against 103 healthy individuals matched for age and sex. They found that patients consumed higher amounts of total fat, saturated fat, and unsaturated fats alike, while the healthy group ate more carbohydrates and dietary fiber. Notably, every single unit rise in the Dietary Inflammatory Index — a scientifically validated score that measures how much a person's diet promotes inflammation in the body — was associated with a 16.8% higher likelihood of developing the disease. The study was funded by Hamadan University of Medical Sciences (Grant Number 40376).