Food Insecurity, Low Household Income, and Low Education Level Increase the Risk of Having Metabolic Dysfunction–Associated Fatty Liver Disease Among Adolescents in the United States

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: In the United States, 10.2% households (HH) report child food insecurity. We assessed associations between metabolic dysfunction–associated fatty liver disease (MASLD) and food insecurity among the adolescents in the United States. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017–2018. Food insecurity was assessed by the US Department of Agriculture Child Food Security Survey Module. MASLD was defined by transient elastography. RESULTS: Among 771 adolescents (aged 12–18 years) (mean age 14.7 years; 52.5% male; 50.9% White, 12.7% Black, 24.4% Hispanic, and 12.1% other), 9.8% reported food insecurity; MASLD prevalence of 10.12% (95% confidence interval [CI] 7.13%–13.20%) affecting 4.27 million adolescents; and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease prevalence of 10.77% (95% CI 7.76–13.78) affecting 4.52 million adolescents. There was near-perfect concordance between MASLD and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (Cohen's κ coefficient of 0.971, 95% CI 0.946–0.996). The prevalence of MASLD was greater among food-insecure adolescents vs food-secure ones (17.4% vs 9.4%) and adolescents living with a low HH income vs those with a higher HH income (15.0% vs 7.2%) and living with a head of HH with a lower education level vs one with a higher education level (18.0% vs 8.2%) (P < 0.05). The fully adjusted model showed that compared with adolescents living in a higher HH income, food-insecure adolescents living in low income HH had a 3-fold greater risk (odds ratio [OR] 3.25, 1.31–8.08) of having MASLD, while food-secure adolescents living in low-income HH had no increased risk (OR 1.58, 0.85–2.93, P = 0.139). The fully adjusted odds of having MASLD was elevated by +163% with the presence of HTN (OR 2.63, 1.02–6.78), +241% with being Hispanic (OR 3.41, 1.36–8.56), and +138% with being male (OR 2.38, 1.20–4.75). In addition, a 1-unit increase in BMI was associated with 25% increase in the odds of having MASLD (OR 1.25, 1.17–1.33) among US adolescents. DISCUSSION: Food insecurity is associated with MASLD among US low-income adolescents especially Hispanic male individuals with obesity and hypertension. Policies addressing inequities are needed.