Association between nut consumption and non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease in adults

Abstract

Background & Aims Increased nut consumption has been associated with reduced inflammation, insulin resistance, and oxidative stress. Although these factors are closely involved in the pathogenesis of non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), few studies have focused on the association between nut consumption and NAFLD in the general population. We aimed to investigate the association of nut consumption and NAFLD in an adult population. Methods A total of 23 915 participants from Tianjin Chronic Low‐Grade Systemic Inflammation and Health (TCLSIH) Cohort Study were included in this study. Information on dietary intake was collected using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Abdominal ultrasonography was done to diagnose NAFLD. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association of nut consumption with NAFLD. Results After adjusting for sociodemographic, medical, dietary, and lifestyle variables, the odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for NAFLD across categories of nut consumption were 1.00 (reference) for <1 time/week, 0.91 (0.82, 1.02) for 1 time/week, 0.88 (0.76, 1.02) for 2‐3 times/week, and 0.80 (0.69, 0.92) for ≥4 times/week (P for trend < 0.01). These associations were attenuated but remained significant after further adjustment for blood lipids, glucose, and inflammation markers. Conclusions Higher nut consumption was significantly associated with lower prevalence of NAFLD. Further prospective studies and randomized trials are required to ascertain the causal association between nut consumption and NAFLD.

Food groups and the likelihood of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Among them, forty-seven articles were excluded because seven were review articles, eight were about adolescents, twenty-four were without the relevant exposure/outcomes and eight did not conform to the relevant study design. Finally, twenty-four articles were identified and included in this systematic review and meta-analysis (12)(13)(14)(15)18,(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52) . The study selection process is described in Fig.…”

“…A total of five studies assessed the effect of nut consumption on the likelihood of NAFLD, which include two cross-sectional studies (with 4737 cases) and three case-control studies (with 768 cases) (15,34,35,39,51) . A negative association of nut intake with the possibility of NAFLD was observed among the cross-sectional studies (I 2 = 0 (Fig.…”

Association between habitual yogurt consumption and newly diagnosed non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

“…In this cross-sectional study, we included only newly diagnosed NAFLD, which reduced the potential influence of reverse causation on our analyses [18]. Moreover, we adjusted for many confounding factors.…”

“…Participants with fatty liver disease and no significant alcohol intake (<140 g/week for men and 70 g/ week for women, respectively) were defined as having NAFLD [17]. The newly diagnosed NAFLD was detected in accordance with annual ultrasonic examination results [18].…”

Honey consumption is inversely associated with prediabetes among Chinese adults: results from the Tianjin Chronic Low-Grade Systemic Inflammation and Health (TCLSIH) Cohort Study

“…The Tianjin Chronic Low-Grade Systemic Inflammation and Health Cohort Study has been previously described in detail (16,17) . The protocol of this study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Tianjin Medical University (reference number: TMUhMEC 201430).…”