Higher dietary niacin consumption tied to 30% lower risk of all-cause mortality among NAFLD patients

An Original Investigation on Global Health published in JAMA Network Open has concluded that patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) may benefit from increased dietary niacin intake.

This study investigated the relationship between dietary niacin intake and all-cause and CVD mortality among individuals with NAFLD. The analysis included data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2003 and 2018, and 4,315 adults aged 20 or older with NAFLD were included in the study.

Key points from the study are:

· This study analyzed 4315 participants with a mean age of 52.5 years

· 1670 participants≥60 years of age, and 2351 were men.

· Over 560 deaths were recorded during an average follow-up of 8.8 years, with 197 attributed to CVD.

· Among NAFLD patients, the Participants with higher niacin intake (26.7 mg or more) had lower all-cause mortality risk compared to those with lower niacin intake (18.4 mg or less),

· The adjusted hazard ratios for individuals with higher niacin intake for all-cause mortality and CVD risk were 0.70 and 0.65, respectively,

This study of US adults with NAFLD indicates that a higher intake of niacin through diet may be linked to a lower risk of all-cause mortality among individuals with NAFLD but not with lower CVD mortality risk. More research is needed to determine the ideal intake levels for niacin to reduce all-cause and CVD mortality risk among NAFLD patients.

Reference:

Pan J, Zhou Y, Pang N, Yang L. Dietary Niacin Intake and Mortality Among Individuals With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(2):e2354277.

doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.54277