The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has a dose-dependent effect on the risk of NAFLD. - GreenMedInfo Summary

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a serious health problem, but the dose-response relationship between sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and NAFLD remains uncertain.A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis were conducted following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 14.0 were used to combine trials and analyze data. The dose-response meta-analysis was performed by non-linear trend regression.Twelve studies recruiting a total of 35,705 participants were included. The results showed that the consumption of SSBs was associated with 1.39-fold increased odds of NAFLD (95% CI: 1.29-1.50,<0.00001). The risk of NAFLD rose with an increased consumption of SSBs, while the consumptions of low doses (<1 cup/week), middle doses (1-6 cups/week) and high doses (≥7 cups/week) of SSBs increased the relative risk of NAFLD by 14%, 26% and 53%, respectively (= 0.01,<0.00001,= 0.03, respectively).This study demonstrates that consumers of SSBs are at significantly increased risk of NAFLD, and the consumption of SSBs has a dose-dependent effect on the risk of NAFLD. The findings of this study strengthen the evidence base for healthy dietary patterns and are meaningful for the primary prevention of NAFLD.