Xia Yang, Zhao Zhiying, Zhang Shunming, Liu Yashu, Meng Ge, Zhang Qing, Liu Li, Wu Hongmei, Gu Yeqing, Wang Yawen, Zhang Tingjing, Wang Xing, Sun Shaomei, Zhou Ming, Jia Qiyu, Song Kun, Wu Qijun, Niu Kaijun, Zhao Yuhong
Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Nutritional Epidemiology Institute and School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
Front Nutr. 2020 Sep 29;7:579086. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2020.579086. eCollection 2020.
Previous studies have explored the associations between nutrition (food groups, nutrients, and dietary patterns) and the prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. However, it remains unclear whether how foods are consumed together is associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The present study aims to construct dietary networks from network science and to explore the associations between complex dietary networks and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The present case-control study generated 2,043 multivariate matched controls for 2,043 newly diagnosed non-alcoholic fatty liver disease cases. Mutual information, which represents both linear and non-linear dependencies among food groups, was used to construct the network topologies. The dietary topologies in the studied case and control groups were different despite the fact that only few food groups show differences in absolute intake. The dietary structure of the case group focused on two major components with more cohesion among food groups, while contrarily the control group had one major component with higher diversity of food groups. The dietary topology of the case group showed equality in connections among beneficial and detrimental food groups, whereas the control group focused more on healthier food choices. This study suggests how foods are consumed, besides the absolute intake, could be an important determinant of the occurrence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. A diverse diet that focuses on whole grain, tubers, and vegetables could yield beneficial effects regarding non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Network science could offer a complementary tool in nutritional epidemiology.
先前的研究探讨了营养(食物类别、营养素和饮食模式)与非酒精性脂肪性肝病患病率之间的关联。然而,食物的搭配方式是否与非酒精性脂肪性肝病相关仍不清楚。本研究旨在运用网络科学构建饮食网络,并探究复杂饮食网络与非酒精性脂肪性肝病之间的关联。本病例对照研究为2043例新诊断的非酒精性脂肪性肝病病例生成了2043个多变量匹配对照。互信息代表食物类别之间的线性和非线性依赖关系,用于构建网络拓扑结构。尽管只有少数食物类别在绝对摄入量上存在差异,但研究的病例组和对照组的饮食拓扑结构不同。病例组的饮食结构集中在两个主要成分上,食物类别之间的凝聚力更强,而对照组则有一个主要成分,食物类别多样性更高。病例组的饮食拓扑结构显示有益和有害食物类别之间的连接平等,而对照组则更侧重于选择更健康的食物。这项研究表明,除了绝对摄入量外,食物的搭配方式可能是非酒精性脂肪性肝病发生的一个重要决定因素。以全谷物、块茎和蔬菜为主的多样化饮食可能对非酒精性脂肪性肝病产生有益影响。网络科学可以为营养流行病学提供一种补充工具。