Diet with greater inflammatory potential is associated with higher prevalence of fatty liver among US adults

Journal article, 2019

The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is rising—caused, at least in part, by unhealthy lifestyles including poor dietary choices. We examined the link between the inflammatory potential of diet as measured by the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®) and liver function tests [summarised by the fatty liver index (FLI)]. Of 20,643 US NHANES participants, 48.7% were men and the mean age was 47.3 years. Significant associations were apparent between increasing DII score and prevalent fatty liver. Individuals in the fourth DII quartile had nearly a six-fold higher likelihood of fatty liver [odds ratio (OR) = 5.97, 95% confidence interval: 4.44–8.02] compared with those in the first quartile. Moderation analysis indicated a significant impact of adiposity on the link between FLI and DII score (p < 0.001). This study provides further evidence of an association between the inflammatory potential of diet and fatty liver.© 2018, Springer Nature Limited.