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. 2025 Feb 21;25(1):102.
doi: 10.1186/s12876-024-03585-1.

Dietary Inflammatory index and its association with fatty liver disease: a study in obese and non-obese populations

Wei Fu #  1 , Junlong Zhao #  2 , GuoBin Cheng #  3 , Liang-Bi Xu  4 , Linya Lyu  3 , Yao Ding  3
Affiliations

Dietary Inflammatory index and its association with fatty liver disease: a study in obese and non-obese populations

Wei Fu et al. BMC Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Background: The worldwide incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a pressing health issue, with chronic inflammation critically influencing its development. The Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) measures the inflammatory potential of one's diet. Our study aimed to investigate the association between DII and fatty liver disease in obese and non-obese individuals.

Methods: Data from the 1999--2001 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), encompassing 3456 adults aged 20 years and above, were utilized for the analysis. The multivariable analysis assessed the correlation between DII, NAFLD, and obesity while adjusting for demographic variables. The restricted cubic spline (RCS) method was also applied with restricted degrees of freedom to establish a non-linear relationship model between DII and NAFLD.

Results: Our study demonstrated significant differences across DII tertiles in various demographic and clinical characteristics. An increase in t DII score by one standard deviation resulted in a 21% increase in the fatty liver risk. This association persisted after adjusting for age, sex, and other covariates. The risk of fatty liver disease increased significantly by 39% in the highest DII tertile. Regression analysis revealed a non-linear correlation between DII and the risk of fatty liver in obese adults. The subgroup analysis showed consistent findings across all subgroups, with particularly strong associations in specific demographic categories.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest a significant association between the DII score and risk of fatty liver disease, particularly in obese individuals. These results underscore the potential role of diet-induced inflammation in pathogenesis of NAFLD.

Keywords: Dietary Inflammatory Index; Fatty liver risk fator; Non-Obese individual; Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; Obesity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The Medical Ethics Committee of the 925th Hospital granted ethical approval for the study under the reference number YNKT202303. Given that the researchers lacked access to identifying information, the data used in this study were anonymized and publicly available on the NHANES website. As a result, the 925th Hospital Review Board categorized this study as "non-human subjects" research.Written informed consent to participate in this study was obtained from all patients/participants. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart illustrating the selection of participants from the NHANES database
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Association between the DII and NAFLD in obesity and normal individuals. The reference point is the median NAFLD value, with knots placed at the 10th, 50th, and 90th percentiles of the NAFLD distribution
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Forest plot showing subgroup analysis of the relationship between DII and NAFLD in obesity and normal individuals. Subgroup analyses are stratified by sex, age, education, diabetes mellitus, hypertension (HBP), Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection, anemia, alcohol consumption, and smoking behaviors
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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