Associations Of Dietary Lipid-Soluble Micronutrients With Hepatic Steatosis Among Adults In The United States

Lipid-soluble micronutrients may be beneficial to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease due to their important roles in metabolism and maintaining tissue functions. Utilizing 2017-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, this study examined the potential overall and race/ethnicity-specific (black, Hispanic and white) associations of dietary lipid-soluble micronutrients (alpha-tocopherol, retinol, vitamin D, beta-carotene and total carotenoids) with hepatic steatosis. The analysis included 4376 adults (1037 blacks, 981 Hispanics, 1549 whites) aged >= 20 years who completed the transient elastography examination with dietary data available. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were estimated using logistic regressions. The age-adjusted prevalence of steatosis was 20.9% for blacks, 34.0% for Hispanics and 28.7% for whites. Overall, dietary alpha-tocopherol was inversely associated with steatosis (highest vs. lowest quartile: OR = 0.51, 95%CI = 0.35-0.74, P-trend = 0.0003). The associations remained significant among blacks (highest vs. lowest tertile: OR = 0.45, 95%CI = 0.26-0.77, P-trend = 0.002) and whites (highest vs. lowest tertile: OR = 0.56, 95%CI = 0.33-0.94, P-trend = 0.02). Higher alpha-tocopherol intake was associated with lower odds of steatosis among all (P-trend = 0.016) and black participants (P-trend = 0.003) classified as never/rare/occasional alcohol drinkers. There was a trend suggesting higher beta-carotene intake with lower odds of steatosis (P-trend = 0.01). Our results suggest potential protective effects of dietary vitamin E as alpha-tocopherol on steatosis particularly among blacks.