Associations between an inflammatory diet index and severe non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a prospective study of 171,544 UK Biobank participants

Petermann-Rocha, F. et al. (2023) Associations between an inflammatory diet index and severe non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a prospective study of 171,544 UK Biobank participants. BMC Medicine, 21, 123. (doi: 10.1186/s12916-023-02793-y) (PMID:37013578) (PMCID:PMC10071692)

Abstract

Background: Although non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is linked to inflammation, whether an inflammatory diet increases the risk of NAFLD is unclear. This study aimed to examine the association between the Energy-adjusted Diet Inflammatory Index (E-DII) score and severe NAFLD using UK Biobank. Methods: This prospective cohort study included 171,544 UK Biobank participants. The E-DII score was computed using 18 food parameters. Associations between the E-DII and incident severe NAFLD (defined as hospital admission or death) were first investigated by E-DII categories (very/moderately anti-inflammatory [E-DII <  − 1], neutral [E-DII − 1 to 1] and very/moderately pro-inflammatory [E-DII > 1]) using Cox proportional hazard models. Nonlinear associations were investigated using penalised cubic splines fitted into the Cox proportional hazard models. Analyses were adjusted for sociodemographic, lifestyle and health-related factors. Results: Over a median follow-up of 10.2 years, 1489 participants developed severe NAFLD. After adjusting for confounders, individuals in the very/moderately pro-inflammatory category had a higher risk (HR: 1.19 [95% CI: 1.03 to 1.38]) of incident severe NAFLD compared with those in the very/moderately anti-inflammatory category. There was some evidence of nonlinearity between the E-DII score and severe NAFLD. Conclusions: Pro-inflammatory diets were associated with a higher risk of severe NAFLD independent of confounders such as the components of the metabolic syndrome. Considering there is no recommended treatment for the disease, our findings suggest a potential means to lower the risk of NAFLD.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Celis, Dr Carlos and Ho, Dr Frederick and Forrest, Dr Ewan and Pell, Professor Jill and Zhou, Ziyi and Petermann-Rocha, Mrs Fanny and Parra, Solange and Boonpor, Jirapitcha
• Authors: Petermann-Rocha, F., Wirth, M. D., Boonpor, J., Parra-Soto, S., Zhou, Z., Mathers, J. C., Livingstone, K., Forrest, E., Pell, J. P., Ho, F. K., Hébert, J. R., and Celis, C.-M.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Health; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Public Health
• Journal Name: BMC Medicine
• Publisher: BioMed Central
• ISSN: 1741-7015
• ISSN (Online): 1741-7015
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Authors
• First Published: First published in BMC Medicine 21: 123
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License