Adherence to UK Dietary Reference Values and Lower Odds of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Secondary Analysis of a Case-Control Study.

Background/aimThe current study aimed to assess the association between the UK dietary reference values (UK-DRV) index and odds of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).MethodsThis case-control study enrolled 225 newly diagnosed NAFLD patients and 450 controls, aged 20-60 years. Dietary intake was assessed via a validated food frequency questionnaire, and the UK-DRV index was calculated for all participants. Using multivariable logistic regression, odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) of NAFLD were determined across tertiles of the UK-DRV index.ResultsThe mean ± SD of the UK-DRV index among control and case groups was 8.84 ± 2.92 and 8.54 ± 2.94, respectively. In the multivariable model, after controlling for potential confounders, the odds of NAFLD were reduced across tertiles of UK-DRV index (OR: 0.39; 95% CI: 0.20-0.74, P for trend: 0.001). Also, each 1-SD increase in UK-DRV index (OR: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.57-0.91, P: 0.007) and its components, including fruits and vegetables (OR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.50-0.84, P: 0.001) and fibre intake (OR: 0.74; 95% CI: 0.54-0.99, P: 0.048), was inversely associated with odds of NAFLD. Furthermore, each 1-SD increase in sugar intake as a negative component of the UK-DRV index was positively associated with odds of NAFLD (OR: 1.52; 95% CI: 1.22-1.90, p