Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Mar;57(6):709-722.
doi: 10.1111/apt.17308. Epub 2022 Nov 15.

Vigorous physical activity provides protection against all-cause deaths among adults patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)

Austin Henry  1 , James M Paik  1   2   3 , Patrick Austin  1   2 , Katherine Elizabeth Eberly  1 , Pegah Golabi  1   2   3 , Issah Younossi  4 , Linda Henry  2   3   4 , Lynn Gerber  1   2   3 , Zobair M Younossi  1   2   3
Affiliations

Vigorous physical activity provides protection against all-cause deaths among adults patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)

Austin Henry et al. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2023 Mar.

Abstract

Background: Mortality benefits of vigorous leisure time physical activity (LTPA) among adults with NAFLD is not known.

Aim: To investigate association between LTPA and reduction in all-cause mortality among adults with NAFLD.

Methods: We used NHANES (1999-2006) self-reported PA data for adults (≥40 years) with mortality follow-up through December 31, 2015. US-Fatty Liver Index in absence of secondary causes identified NAFLD. Moderate and vigorous LTPA were calculated by the 2018 PA Guidelines for Americans.

Results: NAFLD prevalence among 5211 adults (46.2% male; 75.8% white; mean age 53.2 years) was 32.7%. Adults with NAFLD were less likely to report the recommended minimal PA (≥ 150 min/week, 55.5% vs 64.8%) or highly active PA (≥300 min/week, 39.2% vs 48.5%) compared to adults without NAFLD. Over a median follow-up of 12.3 years, 355 deaths among adults with NAFLD and 510 deaths among adults without NAFLD were registered. In the metabolic comorbidities-adjusted model, adults with NAFLD who reported ≥50% of their total PA as vigorous activity had a 56% reduction in all-cause mortality risk (HR:0.44, 95%CI: 0.25-0.76) and cancer-specific mortality risk (HR: 0.21, 0.06-0.66) but not cardiac-specific mortality (p > 0.05) compared to adults with NAFLD who did not report any LTPA. This association remained significant even among adults with NAFLD who met the recommended minimal PA, among adults with NAFLD who reported any LTPA, and among adults with NAFLD who had metabolic abnormalities and in sensitivity analysis.

Conclusions: Engaging in vigorous activity is beneficial for adults with NAFLD - especially those with metabolic abnormalities.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

References

REFERENCES

    1. Younossi Z, Golabi P, Paik J, Henry A, Van Dongen C, Henry L. The most recent and in-depth meta-analytic assessment of the global epidemiology of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). London: International Liver Congress; 2022.
    1. Arshad T, Golabi P, Henry L, Younossi ZM. Epidemiology of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in North America. Curr Pharm Des. 2020;26(10):993-7. https://doi.org/10.2174/1381612826666200303114934
    1. Noureddin M, Vipani A, Bresee C, Todo T, Kim IK, Alkhouri N, et al. NASH leading cause of liver transplant in women: updated analysis of indications for liver transplant and ethnic and gender variances. Am J Gastroenterol. 2018;113(11):1649-59. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41395-018-0088-6
    1. Lazo M, Hernaez R, Eberhardt MS, Bonekamp S, Kamel I, Guallar E, et al. Prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in the United States: the third National Health and nutrition examination survey, 1988-1994. Am J Epidemiol. 2013;178(1):38-45. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kws448
    1. Younossi Z, Anstee QM, Marietti M, Hardy T, Henry L, Eslam M, et al. Global burden of NAFLD and NASH: trends, predictions, risk factors and prevention. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2018;15(1):11-20. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2017.109

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources