An observational study on the association between major dietary patterns and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in Chinese adolescents

Abstract

Data on the association of dietary patterns with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) among adolescents are scarce. Hence, the purpose of this study was to ascertain the influence of dietary patterns and key foods on NAFLD among adolescents in Shandong, China. Data were extracted from Linyi Nutrition and Health study during 2015 to 2016. This cross-sectional study population comprised 1639 participants aged between 16 and 23 years. Dietary intake was assessed by the use of a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), containing 85 food items. NAFLD diagnosis was defined as individuals whose ultrasound examination disclosed hepatic steatosis at any stage, in the absence of excess intake of alcoholic beverages. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated for each quartile of the dietary pattern adherence scores using logistic regression analysis. Of 1639 participants, 221 (13.5%) were classified as having NAFLD. Three major dietary patterns were derived from factor analysis: traditional Chinese, Western, and high-energy dietary patterns. There were significant differences in the intake of whole grains, tuber, and vegetable across quartiles of the traditional Chinese and Western pattern (P < .05). Besides, compared with adolescents in the lowest quartile, those in the highest quartile for whole grains intake had a lower OR for NAFLD (OR = 0.72; 95%CI: 0.61–0.98; P < .05), and for red meat and soft drink consumption had greater OR for NAFLD (OR = 1.34; 95% CI: 1.06–1.72; OR = 1.69; 95% CI: 1.34–2.56; respectively, P < .05). After adjustment for several potential confounders, participants in the highest quartile of the traditional Chinese pattern scores had lower OR for NAFLD (OR = 0.726; 95% CI: 0.383–0.960, P < .05) than did those in the lowest quartile, whereas those in the highest quartile of the Western pattern score had greater OR for NAFLD (OR = 1.197; 95% CI: 1.013–1.736, P < .01) than did those in the lowest quartile. No statistically significant association was found between the high-energy pattern and the risk of NAFLD.Our findings demonstrated that the traditional Chinese dietary pattern was associated with a lower risk, whereas the Western dietary pattern was associated with a higher risk of NAFLD.

Association of Meat Consumption With NAFLD&nbsp;Risk and Liver-related Biomarkers in Older Chinese: A Cross-sectional Study

“…Signi cant associations between high meat consumptions and NAFLD were demonstrated in a few studies [7,9,10,26]. Our results are in accordance with the previous studies, indicating a positive association between high red meat intake and NAFLD.…”

“…Our results are in accordance with the previous studies, indicating a positive association between high red meat intake and NAFLD. Two cross-sectional studies have presented that red meat was signi cantly correlated with NAFLD [7,10]. In another cross-sectional study, high intakes of total meat, especially red meat and/or processed meat were positively linked to NAFLD and insulin resistance, while processed meat alone was only relevant to insulin resistance.…”

Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Has a Dose-Dependent Effect on the Risk of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: An Updated Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-Analysis

“…The titles and abstracts were screened, and the full texts of potentially relevant 33 articles were retrieved for further assessment. Following to our inclusive and exclusive criteria, only 12 articles were included in our meta-analysis [13,14,15,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27]. (Figure 1 describes the selection process.)…”

“…The overall quality of included studies was moderate to high, 10 studies had 8 or more points (high-quality), and only two studies were of moderate quality (6 points) according to NOS standards. Most of the included studies in our meta-analysis adjusted the confounding factors, such as diabetes and body mass index (BMI) [13,14,21,22,24,26].…”

Childhood and Adolescent Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Is It Different from Adults?

“…Indeed, the consumption of a Western diet was strongly associated with NAFLD in both Australian 34 and Chinese adolescents. 35 A review of children with biopsy-proven NAFLD compared with obese controls in the UK did not reveal any major dietary differences between the two groups; however, the NAFLD group tended to be lighter and more active in general. 36 It is difficult to conclude that inclusion or exclusion of one or more components of the diet may make a difference to the development and progression of NAFLD in children.…”