Association of the dietary patterns with the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease among Iranian population: a case-control study

Narges Dehghanseresht; Sima Jafarirad; Seyed Pejman Alavinejad; Anahita Mansoori

doi:10.1186/s12937-020-00580-6

Association of the dietary patterns with the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease among Iranian population: a case-control study

Nutr J. 2020 Jun 30;19(1):63. doi: 10.1186/s12937-020-00580-6.

Authors

Narges Dehghanseresht¹, Sima Jafarirad², Seyed Pejman Alavinejad³, Anahita Mansoori⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Allied Medical Sciences, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, P.O.BOX: 61357-15794, Ahvaz, Iran.
² Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
³ Research Institute for Infectious Disease of Digestive System, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
⁴ Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran. Mansoori_anahita@yahoo.com.

Abstract

Background: Diet-based recommendations can be developed for preventing and treating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) after investigating the effects of whole diets on NAFLD. The aim of this study was to identify major dietary patterns and their association with the risk of NAFLD.

Methods: A total of 244 individuals (122 NAFLD patients and 122 controls) participated in this case-control study. The patients with NAFLD were diagnosed by a gastroenterologist. The participants' dietary intake data were collected using a 147-item semi-quantitive food frequency questionnaire and major dietary patterns were identified by principal component analysis. Adherence to dietary patterns was divided into tertiles and its association with odds of NAFLD was investigated by multivariate logistic regression.

Results: The results showed four major dietary patterns, among which adherence to the "ordinary pattern" was positively associated with NAFLD risk. After adjusting for all confounding factors, individuals in the highest tertile of "ordinary pattern" exhibited a significantly elevated risk of NAFLD compared to the lowest tertile (OR = 3.74, 95%CI = 1.23-11.42, P trend< 0.001). As well as, Individuals in the second and third tertiles of the "traditional pattern" were associated with the risk of NAFLD compared to the lowest tertile (medium vs. lowest tertile OR = 2.37, 95%CI = 1.02-5.53; highest vs. lowest tertile OR = 3.58, 95% CI = 1.48-8.68, P trend< 0.001). The highest tertile of "vegetable and dairy pattern" compared to the lowest tertile was inversely associated with NAFLD risk (OR = 0.23, 95%CI = 0.09-0.58, P trend = 0.02). No significant association was found between "fast food type pattern" and the risk of NAFLD.

Conclusion: A significant association was observed between different dietary patterns and the risk of NAFLD. These results can potentially serve as a dietary strategy for preventing NAFLD in individuals who are at a high risk for progression of NAFLD.

Keywords: Dietary pattern; Factor analysis; Fatty liver; Iran; NAFLD.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Case-Control Studies
Diet
Humans
Iran / epidemiology
Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease* / epidemiology
Risk Factors