Diets with Higher Anti-inflammatory Potential Associated with Lower Risk of Development of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Early-Stage of Fibrosis Among US Adults.

backgroundThere is limited evidence of how dietary inflammatory potential influences nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) progression.

aimsOur study aims to evaluate the association of dietary inflammatory index (DII) with liver fibrosis, a hallmark feature of NAFLD, among US adults.

methodsCross-sectional data consisting of 5,506 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2011 to 2018 were used. Energy adjusted-DII (E-DII) scores were calculated using 2 days of 24-h dietary recall data. We used a partial proportional odds model to determine risk at each stage of fibrosis according to the E-DII score.

resultsThe weighted prevalence of NAFLD (assessed by US fatty liver index) was 34.5%, with 23.2% (assessed by NAFLD Fibrosis Score) having mild fibrosis, 10.4% intermediate fibrosis, and 0.9% advanced fibrosis. When comparing the most pro-inflammatory diets to the most anti-inflammatory diets (AIDs) in the multivariable model, the marginal probability effect (MPE) of NAFLD, mild fibrosis and intermediate fibrosis increased by 11.7% (95% CI 6.6%, 16.9%), 7.0% (95% CI 3.5%, 10.4%) and 4.0% (95% CI 0.3%, 7.5%), respectively. The MPE of advanced fibrosis was not significant (MPE = 0.7%; 95% CI - 1.1%, 2.8%). Similar associations were observed when applying Fibrosis-4 and transient elastography as fibrosis diagnostic measurements.

conclusionsAn AID was associated with lower risk of development of NAFLD and early-stage of fibrosis among US adults. But the associations became attenuated and dissipated as the fibrogenesis became severe. Further studies are needed to re-confirm our observations.