Association between coffee consumption habits and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in community-dwelling populations: data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2013-2018.

OBJECTIVE

Existing evidence suggests a potential association between coffee consumption and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD, now known as MASLD), yet the nature of this relationship remains ambiguous. The primary objective of this study was to comprehensively investigate and clarify the association between coffee intake and the occurrence of NAFLD.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study design was employed, analysing data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) spanning from 2013 to 2018. Weighted univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were utilised to assess the relationship between coffee consumption and NAFLD. Restricted cubic spline analysis was conducted to explore any potential nonlinear associations. Forest plots were generated to visualise the impact of coffee consumption on NAFLD across different subgroups, and threshold effect analysis was performed to evaluate the nonlinear relationship between coffee consumption and NAFLD prevalence specifically in women.

SETTING

Data were from the US - representative NHANES.

PARTICIPANTS

8062 subjects aged ≥ 20 years were included.

RESULTS

The weighted prevalence of NAFLD among the participants was 44·18 %. After controlling for confounding variables, coffee consumption was found to be negatively associated with the risk of NAFLD (OR = 0·96, 95 % CI: 0·94, 0·99). The association between coffee consumption and NAFLD was observed to vary by gender and education level. For the prevention of NAFLD in women, the optimal coffee intake was determined to be two cups.

CONCLUSIONS

Increasing coffee intake emerges as a potentially effective non-pharmacological strategy for the prevention and management of NAFLD. Notably, for women, consuming two cups of coffee appears to represent the optimal threshold for maximising this beneficial effect.