Healthy dietary pattern is inversely associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in elderly

Abstract

The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is rising, an increase that may be associated with changes in lifestyle such as unhealthy dietary patterns. Although advanced age is a risk factor for NAFLD, no studies reporting this association in the elderly population were found. In the present study, the association between dietary patterns and NAFLD in the elderly was assessed. A study including 229 older adults was conducted. NAFLD diagnosis was defined as individuals whose ultrasound examination disclosed hepatic steatosis at any stage, in the absence of excess intake of alcoholic beverages. Dietary patterns were obtained by principal components analysis. Mean scores and standard errors of each dietary pattern were calculated for the groups with and without NAFLD, and mean scores of the two groups were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. The prevalence ratios and 95 % CI were estimated for each tertile of the dietary pattern adherence scores using Poisson multiple regression models with robust variance. A total of 103 (45 %) elderly with NAFLD and four dietary patterns were identified: traditional, regional snacks, energy dense and healthy. Mean scores for adherence to the healthy pattern in the groups with and without NAFLD differed. NAFLD was inversely associated with greater adherence to the healthy pattern and directly associated with the regional snacks, after adjustment for confounders. In conclusion, healthy dietary pattern is inversely associated with NAFLD in elderly.

A “healthy diet–optimal sleep” lifestyle pattern is inversely associated with liver stiffness and insulin resistance in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

“…Evidence exploring associations between a posteriori driven patterns and NAFLD characteristics, namely insulin resistance or liver stiffness, as estimated by transient elastography, is sparse. Adriano et al showed an inverse association between a healthy pattern, rich in vegetables/legumes, white meat, olive oil, margarine and bread/toast and NAFLD presence in the elderly (Adriano et al 2016). Additionally, a study from a Chinese population (Yang et al 2015) concluded that adherence to a pattern high in coarse grains, tubers, vegetables, mushroom and kelp/seaweed, cooked meat and beans is associated with lower risk of NAFLD.…”

“…Regarding dietary habits, mounting evidence supports associations between individual food groups and NAFLD risk or presence (Marchesini et al 2015), but data from dietary patterns analyses, consisting a more holistic approach of dietary intake estimation, are rather limited. Results from a posteriori analysis suggest that high adherence to high-carbohydrate sugary load dietary patterns is associated with increased likelihood of having NAFLD (Jia et al 2015), whereas higher adherence to a healthy pattern, characterized by fruits, vegetables and other high-fiber foods, is inversely associated with NAFLD presence (Adriano et al 2016;Yang et al 2015) , . Similarly, data from a priori analyses have revealed potential benefits of the adherence to the Mediterranean diet both for the prevention and the treatment of NAFLD .…”

Association of Blood Fatty Acid Composition and Dietary Pattern with the Risk of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Patients Who Underwent Cholecystectomy

“…On the other hand, a healthy diet pattern [4,24] and the Mediterranean diet [5,6] were negatively associated with the risk of NAFLD in the general population. Consistently, the risk for NAFLD has been shown to be negatively associated with an intake of vegetables [11,25], fruit [25], whole grains [26], and legumes [25].…”

“…The risk of NAFLD has been suggested to be negatively associated with a healthy dietary pattern [4] and the Mediterranean diet [5,6] and positively with a western dietary pattern [7]. Epidemiological studies also report that the risk of NAFLD is positively associated with an intake of saturated fatty acids [8], fructose from beverages [9], refined grain, red meat, and processed meat [10] and negatively associated with an intake of vegetables [11] and fish rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) [7].…”

Association of the Dietary Patterns with the Risk of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease among Iranian Population: A case-control study

“…Several epidemiological studies investigated the relationship of single nutrients or foods with the risk of NAFLD, but few studies examined the effect of a whole diet on the disease and the results are controversial. For example, although the ndings of some studies suggest a positive relationship between a diet rich in carbohydrates and fast foods and the risk of NAFLD [5,18], Other studies have not found similar results [19,20]. As well as, some studies reported a dietary pattern full of animal meats increased the risk of NAFLD [21][22][23], while another study has not reported a signi cant relationship between high consumption of meat and NAFLD [5].…”