SEATTLE, Jul 7, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- U.S. researchers linked diets high in
protein and cholesterol with a higher risk of liver disease.
The study, published in the journal Hepatology, also found a high carbohydrate
diet associated with a lower risk of cirrhosis -- a disease where liver tissue
is replaced by fibrous scar tissue.
Study leader George Ioannou of Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System
in Seattle used data from 9,221 participants in the National Health Examination
Survey. The study participants did not suffer from cirrhosis or liver cancer at
the start of the study and completed a 24-hour dietary recall questionnaire.
During the follow-up period -- an average of 13.3 years -- 118 participants
received a new diagnosis of cirrhosis and five people a diagnosis of liver
cancer. These individuals were more likely to be male, diabetic, non-white,
older, more obese with more central fat distribution and had higher alcohol
consumption.
Subgroup analyses, the researchers said, showed the significant associations of
protein and cholesterol intake with cirrhosis or liver cancer described in the
entire study population were limited to overweight or obese persons.
"No such associations were observed in normal-weight persons," the study authors
said in a statement. "Our study raises the possibility that dietary factors may
be important, modifiable, and hitherto unrecognized determinants of liver
disease progression."
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