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Observational Study
. 2016 Jun;95(23):e3887.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000003887.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with excessive calorie intake rather than a distinctive dietary pattern

Malte H Wehmeyer  1 , Birgit-Christiane Zyriax, Bettina Jagemann, Ewgenia Roth, Eberhard Windler, Julian Schulze Zur Wiesch, Ansgar W Lohse, Johannes Kluwe
Affiliations
Observational Study

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with excessive calorie intake rather than a distinctive dietary pattern

Malte H Wehmeyer et al. Medicine (Baltimore). 2016 Jun.

Erratum in

  • Erratum: Medicine, Volume 95, Issue 23: Erratum.
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] Medicine (Baltimore). 2016 Jul 18;95(28):e0916. doi: 10.1097/01.md.0000489580.04709.16. eCollection 2016 Jul. Medicine (Baltimore). 2016. PMID: 31265603 Free PMC article.

Abstract

We aimed to assess the dietary patterns associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the efficacy of dietary interventions in a real-life setting at a tertiary medical center in Northern Germany.Clinical and laboratory data as well as data obtained by a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire of 55 consecutive patients diagnosed with NAFLD were compared to an age and gender-matched cohort of 88 healthy individuals by univariate analysis. The efficacy of the dietary intervention was assessed in a subgroup of 24 NAFLD patients 6 months after receiving dietary advice. Macronutritional components of the diet were normalized for absolute daily energy intake.NAFLD patients consumed more calories per day as compared with healthy controls (P <0.001). The absolute amounts of most nutritional components ingested by NAFLD patients were higher than those of the controls. However, there were no significant differences with regards to the relative consumption of carbohydrates (P = 0.359), fat (P = 0.416), and fructose (P = 0.353) per 1000 kcal energy intake. NAFLD patients displayed a higher intake of glucose/1000 kcal (P = 0.041) and protein/1000 kcal (P = 0.009) but a lower intake of fibers/1000 kcal (P < 0.001) and mineral nutrients/1000 kcal (P = 0.001) than healthy controls. In the longitudinal analysis patients significantly reduced their caloric intake and their ALT levels improved 6 months after the dietary counselling (P < 0.001).Our data from a German real-life cohort demonstrate that dietary patterns of patients with NAFLD display great variability and little disease specificity, while the most distinctive feature compared with healthy controls was higher energy intake in NAFLD patients.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Dietary patterns in NAFLD patients and healthy controls. Vertical bars represent the median. NAFLD, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Macronutritional diet components in patients with NAFLD and controls. Each dot represents the specific nutritional component normalized to 1000 kcal per day of each patient. Vertical bars represent the median. NAFLD, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Median body weight and alanine transaminase levels pre and post diet counselling. Twenty-four patients attended a follow-up visit. Each line represents the course of 1 patient.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Total energy uptake and dietary patterns pre and postdiet counselling. Twenty-four patients attended a follow-up visit. The nutritional components were normalized to 1000 kcal per day of each patient. Each line represents the course of 1 patient.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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