The association between dietary intake of sodium, potassium, and Na:K ratio with the risk of NAFLD: A case–control study among Iranian adults

Backgroundsː Dietary sodium (Na) and potassium (K) relationship with chronic disease has drawn more attention recently. Epidemiological studies reported controversial findings about high salt and Na diets with the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and studies about the association between K and NAFLD are scare. Present study aimed to examine the associations between dietary intake of Na, K, and Na:K ratio with the risk of NAFLD.

We analyzed data from a case– control study of 225 patients with NAFLD cases and 450 controls. Dietary intake of Na and K measured using a validated 168 item food frequency questionnaire. Adjusted logistic regression models were used to report odds ratio (OR) 95% confidence interval (CI) of NAFLD across tertiles of Na, K, and Na:K ratio.

The mean ± standard deviation of age and body mass index of participants (47% female) were 38.1 ± 8.8 years and 26.8 ± 4.3 Kg/m2. In the age‑ and sex‑adjusted model, there was any significant association between Na, K, and Na: K ratio with the risk of NAFLD. In the final adjusted model, the OR (95%CI) of the highest vs the lowest tertiles of K, Na, and Na:K was 0.39 (0.19–0.80), 0.71 (0.40–1.25), and 1.10 (0.61–1.97), respectively.

The present study indicates that higher dietary K was related to lower odds of NAFLD; however, there was no association between dietary Na and Na: K ratio with odds of NAFLD.