Volume 25, Issue 115, September 2021

Dietary patterns in adult patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Iraq

Nawal Mehdi Al Khalidi¹, Zainab Ghanim Kadhim^2♦, Hayat Yahya Almousawi³

¹Consultant in gastroenterology and hepatology, head of hepatology department in Gastroenterology and Hepatology Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq
²Family medicine specialist and clinical dietitian, Al-Shaheed Ghazi AlHariri Hospital for surgical specialties, Baghdad – Iraq
³Family medicine specialist and clinical dietitian, Al-Shaheed Ghazi AlHariri Hospital for surgical specialties, Baghdad - Iraq

^♦Corresponding author
Family medicine specialist and clinical dietitian, Al-Shaheed Ghazi AlHariri Hospital for surgical specialties, Baghdad – Iraq

ABSTRACT

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the dietary patterns of Iraqi patients with non- alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and compare it with controls. Subjects and methods: A case control study, that included 88 Iraqi patients, aged between 18 and 70 years, of the 88 patients, 46 Iraqi patients were having NAFLD (identified as cases), and 42 patients were free of liver disease and they were considered as controls. The assessment of the dietary intake during the last 6 months was done through utilizing Food frequency questionnaire. NAFLD was diagnosed by using ultrasonography showing specific changes of that disease together with no excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages. Results: There were statistically significant higher rates of daily consumption of processed meats (p-value 0.03), pasta (p-value 0.010) and soft drinks (p-value 0.023) regarding daily portion of most western food items in comparison between patients with NAFLD and control group. And there were statistically significant higher rates of daily consumption of corn oil (p-value 0.027) and soft drinks (p-value 0.023) in the traditional Iraqi food items in comparison between patients with NAFLD and control group. Regarding body weight (p-value 0.003), BMI (p-value 0.033) and waist circumference (p-value <0.001), they were significantly higher among cases with NAFLD. Conclusion: The current study has found that the western diet patterns in particular processed meat, pasta and soft drinks were associated with a higher risk for NAFLD in Iraqi adults.

Keywords: NAFLD, dietary pattern, body weight, liver disease

Medical Science, 2021, 25(115), 2292-2301

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