Drinking water may reduce NAFLD prevalence in men

Higher intake of plain water appears to suppress newly diagnosed nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) among men but not women, a recent study has found.

Researchers conducted a population-based cross-sectional analysis of 16,434 individuals in whom plain water intake (PWI) was measured using a self-administered food frequency questionnaire. Participants were classified into three PWI categories: ≤3, 4–7, and >7 cups/day. Abdominal ultrasound was used to diagnose NAFLD.

A total of 3,364 participants were diagnosed with NAFLD. Relative to healthy controls, NAFLD patients tended to be older (mean age 41.4 vs 37.8 years; p<0.0001) and were more predominantly men (72.4 percent vs 41.3 percent; p<0.0001). Patients also had higher body mass index and waist circumference and had worse lipid profiles than non-NAFLD comparators.

In terms of diet, NAFLD patients showed significantly higher PWI and total water intake by food consumption (p<0.0001 for both).

However, logistic regression analysis revealed an opposite interaction. Particularly in men, consuming >7 cups of plain water a day cut the likelihood of NAFLD by more than 20 percent relative to the lowest intake category (odds ratio [OR], 0.77, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.63–0.94). Consuming 4–7 cups per day suppressed such odds by 16 percent (OR, 0.84, 95 percent CI, 0.72–0.97; p_trend<0.01).

No such effect was reported in women (p_trend=0.66).

“To the best of our knowledge, no previous research has investigated the relationship between PWI and NAFLD in the general adult population,” the researchers said. “Future prospective cohort study or randomized trial is required to clarify the causality.”