Associations of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, Artificially Sweetened Beverages, and Pure Fruit Juice With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Study

Objective: We aimed to test the associations of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), artificially sweetened beverages (ASB), and pure fruit juice (PJ) consumption with the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).Methods: Data for 136 277 UK Biobank participants who completed the dietary questionnaire and did not have a history of liver disease were included. Logistic regression was used for the cross-sectional setting where NAFLD was defined by a fatty liver index (FLI) >= 60. Cox proportional hazard regression was used for the longitudinal setting where hospitalized NAFLD was defined as hospital admission with Internationl Classification of Diseases-10 codes K76.0 and K75.8.Results: Compared with 0 L/wk for corresponding beverages, multivariate-adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for NAFLD in consumption <= 1, 1 to 2, and >2 L/wk were 1.06 (1.02-1.10), 1.24 (1.19-1.29), and 1.42 (1.35-1.49) for SSB; 1.43 (1.37-1.50), 1.73 (1.65-1.82), and 2.37 (2.25-2.50) for ASB, and 0.87 (0.84-0.89), 0.91 (0.88-0.94), and 1.07 (1.02-1.13) for PJ, respectively. Consumption of SSB and ASB were both positively correlated with FLI (P for line < .001). During a median follow-up of 10.2 years, 1043 cases of hospitalized NAFLD were recorded. ASB consumption of 1 to 2 and >2 L/wk was associated with a 22% (0.99-1.50) and 35% (1.11-1.65) increased risk of hospitalized NAFLD, respectively (P for trend = .002). However, the associations of SSB and PJ with the risk of hospitalized NAFLD were not significant.Conclusions: Consumption of SSB, ASB, and PJ were all related to the risk of NAFLD. Excessive consumption of ASBs was associated with an increased risk of incident hospitalized NAFLD.