Identification of dinner dietary patterns and their association with metabolic risk factors and anthropometric indices in adults with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent liver disease, and its occurrence is increasing worldwide. The dinner meal pattern is significant, in addition to the overall dietary pattern. The current study aimed to identify dinner dietary patterns and investigate their association with metabolic factors, obesity values, and disease severity in patients with NAFLD. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 280 adults (males and females) with NAFLD. Anthropometric measurements and fasting serum lipid profile, blood sugar, and liver enzymes were assessed. Dietary intake data were evaluated using a 24-hour food recall questionnaire for three consecutive days a week (two weekdays and one weekend). Factor analysis was used to identify the dominant patterns of dinner foods. Statistical analysis of the data was performed with SPSS 19 software. Two dominant dinner dietary patterns were identified, including the “healthy dinner dietary pattern” (whole grains, vegetables, tomatoes, garlic, onions, low-fat dairy products, chicken and fish, eggs, legumes, and herbal oils) and the “unhealthy dinner dietary pattern” (refined grains, fried foods, red meat, soft drinks, industrial fruit juices, high-fat dairy products, animal fats, and butter). Significant direct relationships were seen between the consumption of the unhealthy dinner pattern with TC (p = 0.044) and LDL-C (p = 0.014) levels. More adherence to unhealthy dinner dietary patterns was also associated with an increase in AST concentration (p = 0.030). Moreover, a healthy dinner pattern was connected with decreased odds of NAFLD (OR: 0.68 (95%CI: 0.48–0.68), p = 0.031). No significant connection was detected between the dinner meal-specific dietary patterns and anthropometric indices, as well as the glycemic indicator. The results of this study showed that following an unhealthy dinner pattern was connected with dysregulation of some lipid profiles, and the healthy dinner pattern was associated with an improvement in NAFLD severity. Further studies in different populations are needed to confirm and clarify the relationship between dinner dietary patterns and NAFLD risk factors.