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Updated: May 22, 2026
Optimized Analysis of In Vivo and In Vitro Hepatic Steatosis
Published on: March 11, 2017
Meat Intake, Genetic Predispositions, and the Risk of Steatotic Liver Disease in a Cohort Study
Yangxin Xu1, Shaoxian Liang1, Meiling Li1
1Department of Nutrition, Center for Big Data and Population Health of IHM, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
Background:
Prospective studies on meat intake and steatotic liver disease (SLD) risk, including its emerging subtypes and gene-diet interactions, are limited.
Objectives:
We examined associations between meat intake and the risk of SLD and its subtypes, including alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD), metabolic dysfunction-associated SLD (MASLD), and MASLD with increased alcohol intake (MetALD). We also evaluated gene-diet interactions and the joint association of alcohol and red meat.
Methods:
In a cohort of 2,942 Chinese adults from the Anhui Liver Diseases Study, dietary data were collected via a validated food frequency questionnaire, and SLD was assessed by vibration-controlled transient elastography. Cox regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). In addition, genetic variants were genotyped, including a polygenic risk score (PRS) for cirrhosis derived from established cirrhosis related loci (e.g. PNPLA3 rs738409 and TM6SF2 rs58542926) and polymorphisms in carcinogen-metabolizing enzymes (e.g. CYP2E1 rs6413432 and CYP1A2 rs762551), to evaluate gene-diet interactions.
Results:
From 2020 to 2025, 584 incident SLD cases were identified. Each 50-g/d increase in total meat, unprocessed red meat, and processed red meat intake was associated with a 12% (95% CI: 4%, 20%), 13% (95% CI: 4%, 22%), and 93% (95% CI: 24%, 199%) higher SLD risk, respectively. Total meat was also positively associated with MASLD, ALD, and MetALD. Significant gene-diet interactions were observed for MASLD, with stronger associations in individuals with certain genetic variants in HSD17B13 rs6834314-GG and MARC1 rs2642438-GA/AA or high PRS (all P-interaction < 0.05). Compared with low red meat and no alcohol intake, high red meat with alcohol intake had the highest SLD risk (HR: 1.68; 95% CI: 1.20, 2.35).
Conclusions:
Meat intake is associated with increased SLD risk, particularly in genetically susceptible individuals. Combined high red meat and alcohol intake further elevates risk.
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