Daily tea drinking is not associated with newly diagnosed non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in Chinese adults: the Tianjin chronic low-grade systemic inflammation and health cohort study

Yang Xia,Yeqing Gu,Shunmin Zhang,Xue Bao,Li Liu,Qing Zhang,Kaijun Niu,Xuena Wang,Ming Zhou,Ge Meng,Qijun Wu,Qiyu Jia,Shaomei Sun,Kun Song,Hongmei Wu,Xing Wang,Yuhong Zhao

doi:10.1186/s12937-019-0502-y

Abstract

BackgroundPrevious studies have reported that tea extract supplementation has potential benefits on the risk factors of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); however, no study has investigated the direct effect of daily tea consumption on the prevalence of NAFLD in the general population. This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the associations between tea consumption and the prevalence of newly diagnosed NAFLD among Chinese adults.MethodsThe present cross-sectional study was based on the Tianjin Chronic Low-grade Systemic Inflammation and Health Cohort Study. In total, 19,350 participants were enrolled in the analyses. Tea consumption was assessed via a self-administered food frequency questionnaire. NAFLD was diagnosed via liver ultrasonography and no history of heavy alcohol intake. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the associations between tea consumption and the prevalence of NAFLD.ResultsConsumption of green tea, oolong tea, and black tea were positively associated with the prevalence of newly diagnosed NAFLD before adjustments. Compared with the participants who never drink tea, the odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of newly diagnosed NAFLD in the highest categories (≥ 1 cup/day) of green tea, oolong tea, black tea, and jasmine tea were 1.48 (1.33, 1.65), 1.50 (1.33, 1.68), and 1.28 (1.13, 1.46), and 1.36 (1.20, 1.54) before adjustments, respectively. However, no significant association was found between tea consumption and the prevalence of NAFLD after adjusting for socio-demographic, behavioural, anthropometric, dietary, and clinical confounding factors.ConclusionThere is no significant association between daily tea drinking and newly-diagnosed NAFLD in general Chinese adults.

Highlights

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is rapidly becoming the most common chronic liver disease and potentially affects 25% of the global adult population [1]
Participants This cross-sectional study was based on the Tianjin Chronic Low-grade Systemic Inflammation and Health (TCLSIHealth) Cohort Study, which is a large prospective dynamic cohort study that focuses on the relationships between chronic low-grade systemic inflammation and the health status of a population living in Tianjin, China [12]
After adjustments for age and sex where appropriate, participants with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) tended to be men, older, of lower education level, less likely to be employed as managers (P < 0.0001), and current or ex-smokers, who drank sometimes, had lower daily energy intake and lower intake of vegetable pattern (P < 0.0001), had a higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, and family history of diabetes, and higher Body mass index (BMI) and alanine aminotransferase level (P < 0.0001)

Summary

Introduction

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is rapidly becoming the most common chronic liver disease and potentially affects 25% of the global adult population [1]. It is important to identify modifiable risk factors and develop preventive strategies to decrease the disease burden of NAFLD. Previous studies have reported that tea extract supplementation has potential benefits on the risk factors of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); no study has investigated the direct effect of daily tea consumption on the prevalence of NAFLD in the general population. This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the associations between tea consumption and the prevalence of newly diagnosed NAFLD among Chinese adults

Methods

Results

Conclusion