Association between time-restricted eating and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in a nationwide cross-sectional study.

The association between time-restricted eating (TRE) and the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is less studied. Moreover, whether the association is independent of physical exercise or diet quality or quantity is uncertain. In this nationwide cross-sectional study of 3,813 participants, the timing of food intakes was recorded by 24-h recalls; NAFLD was defined through vibration-controlled transient elastography in the absence of other causes of chronic liver disease. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using logistic regression. Participants with daily eating window of ≤ 8 h had lower odds of NAFLD (OR = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.52-0.93), compared to those with ≥ 10 h window. Early (5am-3pm) and late TRE (11am-9pm) showed inverse associations with NAFLD prevalence without statistical heterogeneity ( p heterogeneity = 0.649) with ORs of 0.73 (95% CI: 0.36-1.47) and 0.61 (95% CI: 0.44-0.84), respectively. Such inverse association seemed stronger in participants with lower energy intake (OR = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.38-0.89, p interaction = 0.020). There are no statistical differences in the TRE-NAFLD associations according to physical activity ( p interaction = 0.390) or diet quality ( p interaction = 0.110). TRE might be associated with lower likelihood of NAFLD. Such inverse association is independent of physical activity and diet quality, and appears stronger in individuals consuming lower energy. Given the potential misclassification of TRE based on one- or two-day recall in the analysis, epidemiological studies with validated methods for measuring the habitual timing of dietary intake are warranted.