The Association between Nuts Intake and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) Risk: a Case-Control Study

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease. Nuts are nutrient- and calorie-dense foods with several health-promoting compounds. In this case-control study, we investigated the association between nut intake and NAFLD risk. Hundred ninety-six subjects with NAFLD and eight hundred three controls were recruited. The participants' dietary intakes were assessed by a valid and reliable semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Participants were categorized according to deciles of daily nuts intake. Multivariable logistic regression models were used with NAFLD as the dependent and deciles of daily nuts intake as an independent variables. Range of age was 18 to 75 years. Forty three percent of participants were male. Range of nuts intake was between 0 to 90.90 g/day. In model 3, after adjusting for potential confounding variables including, age, sex, BMI, alcohol consumption, smoking, diabetes and physical activity, the relation between daily nuts intake and risk of NAFLD was positive and significant in the deciles 9 and 10 compared to the lowest decile (odds ratio OR, 3.22; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.04-7.49; p = 0.039 and OR, 3.03; 95% CI, 1.03-8.90; p = 0.046, respectively). However, in the final model after additional adjusting for energy intake, no significant association was found. According to the findings, there is not any significant relationship between nuts intake and NAFLD risk; while higher intake of nuts is related to the higher risk of NAFLD mediated by energy intake.