The Associations between Healthy Eating Patterns and Risk of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease: A Case–Control Study

Abstract

Background: Although several epidemiological studies have identified an inverse association between healthy dietary patterns and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)/non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), little is known about the contribution of the food component to MASLD risk and the association between dietary patterns and severity of MASLD. This study aimed to investigate the association between healthy eating patterns and MASLD risk and severity of MASLD. Methods: A case–control study including 228 patients diagnosed with MASLD and 228 controls was conducted. The modified Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) score, and Alternative Mediterranean Diet (AMED) score were evaluated based on information collected via a validated food-frequency questionnaire. MASLD was confirmed if participants presented with ultrasound-diagnosed fatty liver diseases along with at least one of five cardiometabolic risk factors and no other discernible cause. The logistic regression models were applied to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of MASLD for dietary scores. Results: Compared with participants in the lowest tertile, those in the highest tertile of AHEI had a 60% reduced risk of MASLD (OR: 0.40; 95% CI: 0.25–0.66). Similar associations were also observed for DASH and AMED, with ORs comparing extreme tertiles of 0.38 (95% CI: 0.22–0.66) and 0.46 (95% CI: 0.28–0.73), respectively. Further Stratified analysis revealed that the inverse associations between AHEI and DASH with MASLD risks were stronger among women than men, and the inverse associations between AMED and MASLD risks were more pronounced among participants with normal weight (OR: 0.22; 95% CI: 0.09–0.49). For components within the dietary score, every one-point increase in vegetable score and whole grain score within the AHEI was associated with an 11% (95% CI: 5–16%) and a 6% (95% CI: 0–12%) lower MASLD risk, respectively. Similar inverse associations with those scores were observed for the DASH and AMED. Conclusion: Greater adherence to healthy eating patterns was associated with reduced risk of MASLD, with vegetables and whole grains predominately contributing to these associations. These findings suggested that healthy eating patterns should be recommended for the prevention of MASLD.