Is the association between dairy product consumption and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease influenced by genetics? Original paper

In this prospective cohort study, a higher consumption of low-fat dairy products was associated with a reduced risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and liver cirrhosis. Neither a high nor a low genetic risk for these conditions influenced these associations.

Whether consuming dairy products is associated with the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or liver cirrhosis.

190,145 men and women (ages 39–72) from the UK Biobank Study, including 1,512 and 556 incident cases of NAFLD and cirrhosis, respectively.

A prospective cohort study with a median follow-up of 11.6 years was performed. Dairy product consumption was assessed using at least one 24-hour dietary recall. The dairy products considered were milk, yogurt, and cheese. Additionally, dairy products were categorized as either high fat or low fat and fermented or unfermented.

To determine whether genetics influenced the associations, the researchers created genetic risk scores using 5 SNPs associated with NAFLD and 6 SNPs associated with cirrhosis. In subgroup analyses, the participants were divided into groups based on whether they had a high or low genetic risk score.

The analyses were adjusted for various confounders, including age, sex, BMI, smoking, alcohol intake, socioeconomic status, disease history, total energy intake, physical activity, and healthy diet score (which was calculated based on fruit, vegetable, fish, and meat intake).

Compared to participants with the lowest total dairy product intake (1.25 servings per day), the risk of NAFLD and of cirrhosis was 14% and 25% lower, respectively, in participants with the highest total dairy product intake (7.5 servings per day).

A reduced risk of NAFLD and of cirrhosis was found for higher intakes of low-fat dairy products, unfermented dairy products, and fermented dairy products, but not high-fat dairy products.

These associations were not influenced by the participant’s genetic risk score.

A limitation of this study is the use of 24-hour dietary recalls to assess dairy product intake, as this may not have been enough information to get an accurate gauge of the participant’s habitual consumption of dairy products.