Ultra-Processed Foods Consumption and the Risk of nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Korean Adults.

Authors

Che Eun Kim, Seungyoun Jung

Published in

Journal of the American Nutrition Association. Pages 1-10. Oct 27, 2026. Epub Oct 27, 2026.

Abstract

Despite the global burden of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), its associations with ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption in Asian populations remain limited. We aimed to evaluate the association between total and subgroup-specific UPF consumption and NAFLD risk and its related biomarkers among Korean adults.
We analyzed data from 11,168 participants in the 2016-2019 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Diet was assessed using 24-h recall, and UPF was defined by NOVA classification. NAFLD was defined by a comprehensive NAFLD score ≥ 40. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression and linear regression models were used to examine associations with NAFLD risk and cardiometabolic and liver-related biomarkers, respectively.
There was a positive trend in the association between UPF intake and odds of NAFLD (Multivariable-adjusted Odds Ratio [MVOR]_{quintile 5 vs 1} = 1.28, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.06-1.56; p-trend <0.001). Higher UPF intake was also significantly associated with greater adiposity (all p-trend ≤0.03), dysregulated cardiometabolic profiles, including higher LDL-c, hemoglobin, and non-HDL-c (all p-trend ≤0.04), and elevated hepatic injury markers, including ALT or ALT/AST ratio (all p-trend ≤0.03). Among UPF subgroups, processed meat and fish showed a significant positive association with NAFLD (MVOR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.01-1.07). Similarly, lower odds of NAFLD were observed in association with a 100 g/day substitution of processed meat and fish with unprocessed or minimally processed alternatives (MVOR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.80-0.98).
In our study, higher UPF intake was associated with greater odds of NAFLD. Larger cohort studies are warranted to replicate our findings.

PMID:
42945511
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 28 Oct 2026.

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