Dietary lipophilic index and odds of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD): A population-based study.

INTRODUCTION

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (MASLD) is one of the highly prevalent metabolic disorders worldwide The present study aimed to determine the association between a novel dietary lipophilic index (LI) with metabolic profile and MASLD in a population-based study in Amol, Iran.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 2979 Iranian adults within the framework of the Amol cohort study (AmolCS) Dietary assessments were performed using a validated 168-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) The dietary fatty acids were determined using the food composition table in Food Data Central of the USDA to indicate the lipophilic index Information about the melting point of fatty acids was obtained from the lipid bank database MASLD was defined as the ultrasound detection of hepatic steatosis that ruled out other causes of hepatic fat accumulation Then, dietary LI and lipophilic load (LL) were calculated using dietary fatty acid intake and melting point Multivariate MASLD The analysis was carried out for all participants stratified by sex and BMI Potential confounders were included in three different adjusted models.

RESULTS

The results revealed that dietary LI was associated with higher BMI and (WHtR), low physical activity, being female, living in urban residencies, and diabetes After adjustment for potential confounders, age, and energy intake, the odds ratio of MASLD in women was 1.33 (95 % CI: 1.05-1.99, p = 0.048) in the last tertile of dietary LI compared to the first tertile In adjustment by age and energy intake, chronic disease, smoking, physical activity, waist circumference, and residency women have a higher chance of MASLD in the second tertile of dietary LI (OR:1.38 95 % CI: 1.01-1.89) as well as in the third LI (OR:1.39, 95 % CI: 1.02-1.91) compared to the first tertile When the body mass index (BMI) was added to other confounders variables, the odds ratio of MASLD was 1.44 (95 % CI: 1.05-1.99) in the second tertile of LI and 1.41(95 % CI:1.02-1.95) in the third tertiles, Ptrend=0.04 In normal weight participants (BMI< 25), after adjustment for age and energy intake, the odds of MASLD were 86 % higher (CI; 1.07-3.25, Ptrend< 0.03) in the last tertile of LL compared to the first one.

CONCLUSIONS

This study found that higher levels of dietary fatty acids are associated with 40 % higher odds of MASLD in women Additionally, higher levels of fatty acids in normal-weight individuals were linked to an 86 % higher chance of MASLD It is highly recommended to reduce intake of saturated fatty acids and trans fatty acids, which are associated with a lower risk of MASLD.