A recent BMC Medicine study investigates the association between a plant-based eating regimen and genetic predisposition with the danger of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Study: Plant-based diets, genetic predisposition and risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Image Credit: zarzamora / Shutterstock.com

Background

NAFLD is amongst probably the most common chronic liver disorders, affecting around 32.4% of adults worldwide. In the UK, one in every three people is diagnosed with NAFLD.

NAFLD occurs as a consequence of an interaction between environmental and genetic aspects. The truth is, several studies have shown that eating regimen is a modifiable risk factor for NAFLD.

The next consumption of plant-based foods reduces the danger of NAFLD and liver fat content; nonetheless, not all plant-based foods are useful for NAFLD. For instance, the consumption of refined grains, sugar-sweetened beverages, and fruit juices increases the danger of NAFLD.

A lot of the studies correlating these food products with NAFLD risk included a small sample size, which limits the understanding of the particular effectiveness of this eating regimen on NAFLD risk. Thus, there may be a necessity for extensive population-based studies to know what variety of plant-based eating regimen can reduce the danger of NAFLD.

Although multiple NAFLD-associated loci have been identified in genomic studies, no studies have assessed the interaction between genetic predisposition and eating regimen patterns that will influence the danger of NAFLD.

In regards to the study

The present longitudinal study investigates the connection between plant-based eating regimen index (PDI) and NAFLD risk and whether this association is influenced by genetic aspects.

All relevant data were obtained from the U.K. Biobank, comprising over 500,000 participants from England, Scotland, and Wales between the ages of 37 and 73. The present study included participants who underwent no less than one dietary assessment and excluded those diagnosed with NAFLD, cirrhosis, or other liver diseases.

Individuals diagnosed with alcohol-related problems were also excluded. Participants with incomplete genetic data or not of European descent weren’t considered on this study. 

Data related to the dietary patterns of the chosen participants from the U.K. Biobank were obtained using the Oxford WebQ, a 24-hour dietary recall questionnaire.

Different food types were categorized into seventeen groups, which were sub-classified into three larger categories, including healthy plant-based food, less healthy plant-based food, and animal-based food. Overall PDI, healthful plant-based eating regimen index (hPDI), and unhealthful plant-based eating regimen index (uPDI) were estimated using the study cohort.

Study findings

A complete of 159,222 participants were included within the NAFLD risk analyses and 20,692 in liver fat content analyses. The mean age of the participants was 58 years, and about 58% of the cohort was female.

The general PDI ranged between 25 and 74, hPDI ranged between 27 and 82, and uPDI ranged between 27 and 78. Female, educated, non-current smokers, and non-obese participants were likelier to have a better overall PDI and hPDI but lower uPDI.

Liver fat content was assessed based on magnetic resonance imaging-derived proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF) data. A greater consumption of PDI, particularly nPDI, was related to lower NAFLD risk and liver fat content. Comparatively, higher uPDI was linked to a greater risk of NAFLD and liver fat content.

Improved eating regimen quality, which a Mediterranean eating regimen rating could represent, influenced the genetic risk of NAFLD on the liver fat content increase. The study findings highlight that PDIs might mediate NAFLD genetic risk.

A big multiplicative interaction between PDIs and NAFLD-polygenic risk rating (PRS) was noted, which increased the danger of NAFLD in those with an hPDI in a sex-specific manner.

Consumption of nuts, tea, and occasional was related to a reduced risk of NAFLD. Consistent with previous reports, a better intake of hPDI significantly increases the ingestion of flavonoids, dietary fibers, caffeine, phytosterols, and plant proteins. This elevated amount of phytoconstituents results in improved insulin resistance, gut microbiome composition, and decreased central obesity, which significantly reduces the danger of NAFLD.

Conclusions

The present longitudinal study has some limitations, including a dietary assessment based on 24-hour recall, which is subjected to bias and misclassification. Moreover, limited data on long-term dietary habits was available. Since this study only included European participants, the generalizability of the findings was limited.

Despite these limitations, the present study reported the interplay between genetic aspects and PDIs, which influenced NAFLD risks. Higher hPDI food consumption reduced the danger of NAFLD, no matter genetic susceptibility, which is comparable to higher uPDI, which increased the danger of NAFLD.

The study findings emphasize the importance of adhering to a healthy plant-based eating regimen to scale back the danger of NAFLD in your complete population, no matter genetic susceptibilities.