Association of Dietary Patterns with MRI Markers of Hepatic Inflammation and Fibrosis in the MAST4HEALTH Study
Abstract
Whereas the etiology of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is complex, the role of nutrition as a causing and preventive factor is not fully explored. The aim of this study is to associate dietary patterns with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters in a European population (Greece, Italy, and Serbia) affected by NAFLD. For the first time, iron-corrected T1 (cT1), proton density fat fraction (PDFF), and the liver inflammation fibrosis score (LIF) were examined in relation to diet. A total of 97 obese patients with NAFLD from the MAST4HEALTH study were included in the analysis. A validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to assess the quality of diet and food combinations. Other variables investigated include anthropometric measurements, total type 2 diabetes risk, physical activity level (PAL), and smoking status. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to identify dietary patterns. Six dietary patterns were identified, namely “High-Sugar”, “Prudent”, “Western”, “High-Fat and Salt”, “Plant-Based”, and “Low-Fat Dairy and Poultry”. The “Western” pattern was positively associated with cT1 in the unadjusted model (beta: 0.020, p-value: 0.025) and even after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), PAL, smoking, the center of the study, and the other five dietary patterns (beta: 0.024, p-value: 0.020). On the contrary, compared with low-intake patients, those with medium intake of the “Low-Fat Dairy and Poultry” pattern were associated with lower values of cT1, PDFF, and LIF. However, patients with a “Low-Fat Dairy and Poultry” dietary pattern were negatively associated with MRI parameters (cT1: beta: −0.052, p-value: 0.046, PDFF: beta: −0.448, p-value: 0.030, LIF: beta: −0.408, p-value: 0.025). Our findings indicate several associations between MRI parameters and dietary patterns in NAFLD patients, highlighting the importance of diet in NAFLD.
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BibTeX
@article{amanatidou2026association,
title = {{Association of Dietary Patterns with MRI Markers of Hepatic Inflammation and Fibrosis in the MAST4HEALTH Study}},
author = {Athina Amanatidou and Andriana Kaliora and Charalampia Amerikanou and Stefan Stojanoski and Natasa Milosevic and Chara Vezou and Mirjana Beribaka and Rajarshi Banerjee and Ioanna-Panagiota Kalafati and Ilias Smyrnioudis and Mary Jo Kurth and Aimo Kannt and M. Pilar Francino and Sophie Visvikis-Siest and Panos Deloukas and Carlos Llorens and Fernando Marascio and Natasa Milic and Milica Medic-Stojanoska and Amalia Gastaldelli and Maria Giovanna Trivella and George Dedoussis},
journal = {International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/ijerph19020971},
url = {https://hal.univ-lorraine.fr/hal-03527992v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Association of Dietary Patterns with MRI Markers of Hepatic Inflammation and Fibrosis in the MAST4HEALTH Study
AU - Athina Amanatidou
AU - Andriana Kaliora
AU - Charalampia Amerikanou
AU - Stefan Stojanoski
AU - Natasa Milosevic
AU - Chara Vezou
AU - Mirjana Beribaka
AU - Rajarshi Banerjee
AU - Ioanna-Panagiota Kalafati
AU - Ilias Smyrnioudis
AU - Mary Jo Kurth
AU - Aimo Kannt
AU - M. Pilar Francino
AU - Sophie Visvikis-Siest
AU - Panos Deloukas
AU - Carlos Llorens
AU - Fernando Marascio
AU - Natasa Milic
AU - Milica Medic-Stojanoska
AU - Amalia Gastaldelli
AU - Maria Giovanna Trivella
AU - George Dedoussis
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/03
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
DO - 10.3390/ijerph19020971
UR - https://hal.univ-lorraine.fr/hal-03527992v1
AB - Whereas the etiology of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is complex, the role of nutrition as a causing and preventive factor is not fully explored. The aim of this study is to associate dietary patterns with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters in a European population (Greece, Italy, and Serbia) affected by NAFLD. For the first time, iron-corrected T1 (cT1), proton density fat fraction (PDFF), and the liver inflammation fibrosis score (LIF) were examined in relation to diet. A total of 97 obese patients with NAFLD from the MAST4HEALTH study were included in the analysis. A validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to assess the quality of diet and food combinations. Other variables investigated include anthropometric measurements, total type 2 diabetes risk, physical activity level (PAL), and smoking status. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to identify dietary patterns. Six dietary patterns were identified, namely “High-Sugar”, “Prudent”, “Western”, “High-Fat and Salt”, “Plant-Based”, and “Low-Fat Dairy and Poultry”. The “Western” pattern was positively associated with cT1 in the unadjusted model (beta: 0.020, p-value: 0.025) and even after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), PAL, smoking, the center of the study, and the other five dietary patterns (beta: 0.024, p-value: 0.020). On the contrary, compared with low-intake patients, those with medium intake of the “Low-Fat Dairy and Poultry” pattern were associated with lower values of cT1, PDFF, and LIF. However, patients with a “Low-Fat Dairy and Poultry” dietary pattern were negatively associated with MRI parameters (cT1: beta: −0.052, p-value: 0.046, PDFF: beta: −0.448, p-value: 0.030, LIF: beta: −0.408, p-value: 0.025). Our findings indicate several associations between MRI parameters and dietary patterns in NAFLD patients, highlighting the importance of diet in NAFLD.
SN - 1661-7827
SN - 1660-4601
ER -