Dietary inflammatory index in relation to the progression of hepatic steatosis and liver fibrosis: evaluation by elastography/Fibroscan.

One of the proposed mechanisms by which nutrition influences the progression of hepatic steatosis to fibrosis is inflammation. The study investigated how the inflammatory potential of the diet affects the risk of liver damage in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a condition where fat accumulates in the liver. This cross-sectional study included 170 outpatients with newly diagnosed NAFLD. This study used a device called Fibroscan® to measure the degree of liver fibrosis, which is the scarring of the liver tissue due to chronic inflammation. The study also used a tool called the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) to measure the inflammatory potential of the diet based on the intake of different foods and nutrients. In the findings of the study, patients with more severe fat accumulation in the liver (hepatic steatosis) had higher DII scores, meaning they had more inflammatory diets. The study also found that higher DII scores were associated with higher weight and body mass index (BMI). One standard deviation (SD) increase in DII scores was associated with a 0.29 kilopascal (95% CI: 0.10-0.44; P-value 0.001) increase in the mean liver stiffness, an indicator of liver fibrosis. The study concluded that patients with higher DII scores had a higher risk of developing liver fibrosis than those with lower DII scores, even after adjusting for confounding factors (odds ratio: 5.89; P-value: 0.001). The study suggested that eating less inflammatory foods may help prevent or slow down the progression of hepatic steatosis and liver in patients with NAFLD.

Association of plant-based dietary patterns with the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus using cross-sectional results from RaNCD cohort.

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is increasing in middle- and low-income countries, and this disease is a burden on public health systems. Notably, dietary components are crucial regulatory factors in T2DM. Plant-based dietary patterns and certain food groups, such as whole grains, legumes, nuts, vegetables, and fruits, are inversely correlated with diabetes incidence. We conducted the present study to determine the association between adherence to a plant-based diet and the risk of diabetes among adults. We conducted a cross-sectional, population-based RaNCD cohort study involving 3401 men and 3699 women. The plant-based diet index (PDI) was developed using a 118-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between the PDI score and the risk of T2DM. A total of 7100 participants with a mean age of 45.96 ± 7.78 years were analysed. The mean PDI scores in the first, second, and third tertiles (T) were 47.13 ± 3.41, 54.44 ± 1.69, and 61.57 ± 3.24, respectively. A lower PDI was significantly correlated with a greater incidence of T2DM (T1 = 7.50%, T2 = 4.85%, T3 = 4.63%; P value < 0.001). Higher PDI scores were associated with significantly increased intakes of fibre, vegetables, fruits, olives, olive oil, legumes, soy products, tea/coffee, whole grains, nuts, vitamin E, vitamin C, and omega-6 fatty acids (P value < 0.001). After adjusting for confounding variables, the odds of having T2DM were significantly lower (by 30%) at T3 of the PDI than at T1 (OR = 0.70; 95% CI = 0.51, 0.96; P value < 0.001). Our data suggest that adhering to plant-based diets comprising whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, vegetable oils, and tea/coffee can be recommended today to reduce the risk of T2DM.