The association between score of plant-based diet and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in adults.

BACKGROUND

Plant-based diet (PDI) as resource of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory phytochemicals, that was considered to protect against onset and development of Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

AIM: To investigate the association between plant-based diet and NAFLD in adults.

METHODS

The present case control study was conducted on 240 individuals (120 with NAFLD and 120 control) aged 20-69 years. Provided recommendations by the American College of Gastroenterology and the American Gastroenterological Association were used for NAFLD diagnosis. Dietary intake was assessed using 178-food item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Also, plant-based diet score was evaluated based on 18 food groups classified into animal foods, healthy and unhealthy plant foods. A multiple logistic regression model was used to examine the relationship between fatty liver disease and tertiles of PDI.

RESULTS

The results of this study showed that we did not observe any association between tertiles of PDI and NAFLD in crude model (OR: 1.29, 95%CI:0.66-2.52, P:0.44) and after adjustment for confounders including age, energy intake, physical activity, body mass index (OR:0.76, 95%CI: 0.31-1.86, P:0.52). Also, there were not any association of tertiles of healthy PDI (hPDI) (OR:1.14, 95%CI: 0.50-2.60, P:0.74) and unhealthy PDI (uhPDI) (OR:0.89, 95%CI:0.36-2.18, P: 0.79) with NAFLD after full adjustment for potential confounders.

CONCLUSION

There was not any association of PDI, hPDI, and uPDI with NAFLD in adults. More research needs to examine whether this specific diet may impact and improve NAFLD.