Association Between Dietary Inflammation Index and Hypertension in Participants with Different Degrees of Liver Steatosis

Background: The prevalence of hypertension (HTN) is higher in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Inflammation is the key link between HTN and NAFLD. Systemic inflammation can be dramatically increased by inflammatory diet intake. However, whether controlling the inflammatory diet intake in NAFLD patients could affect the occurrence of HTN still remains unknown. Our aim here is to evaluate the effect of the dietary inflammatory index (DII) on blood pressure in patients with different grades of hepatic steatosis.

Materials And Methods: The data were collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (2017-2018). DII was calculated based on the data of 24-h dietary recall interviews. The severity of liver steatosis was assessed by a controlled attenuation parameter. Multivariable logistic regression, multivariable linear regression and subgroup analyses were conducted to determine the association between DII and blood pressure in patients with different degrees of hepatic steatosis.

Results: A total of 5449 participants were included in this analysis. In male participants with severe liver steatosis (S3), the highest DII tertile group was more likely to have higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) compared with the lowest tertile group (Tertile1: 128.31(125.31,131.31), Tertile3: 133.12(129.40,136.85), P for trend =0.03551). DII was positively correlated with SBP and the prevalence of HTN in males with hepatic steatosis grade S3 (≥ 67% steatosis) (SBP: P for trend = 0.011, HTN: P for trend = 0.039). Regarding the association of DII with SBP and HTN, the tests for interaction were significant for hepatic steatosis (SBP: interaction for  = 0.0015, HTN: interaction for  = 0.0202).

Conclusions: In the present study, we demonstrated that DII was a risk factor for increased SBP and the prevalence of HTN in males with severe hepatic steatosis S3, indicating that anti-inflammatory dietary management should be considered in these individuals to reduce the risk of developing HTN.