Comparison of the Nutrition of Patients with and without Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver in Tehran

Abstract

Introduction: A high prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with obesity and lifestyle disorders. The present study was conducted to compare the nutritional pattern of patients with and without non-alcoholic fatty liver disease referred to the hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2017.Materials and Methods: The present case-control study was performed on a total of 300 outpatients and inpatients, aged 18–65 years. These patients were referred to the ultrasonography section of the hospitals, and those recruited in the study were selected by the convenience method of sampling. According to the results of ultrasonography, these subjects were divided into two groups: case (100 patients) and control (200 subjects for increasing the statistical power of study). The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (version 19), descriptive statistics, and the Mann–Whitney test. P<0.05 was considered significant.Results: A significant difference was detected between the mean consumption of unhealthy foods in the case group as compared to the control group (P=0.001), while those with fatty liver reported a low average intake of fruits and vegetables with a significant difference (P=0.001).Conclusion: The results showed that patients with fatty liver complied with poor dietary habits as compared to individuals without the disease.