Dietary vitamin E intake is associated with lower mortality among individuals with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease

Abstract

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) has become a prominent global health issue within the realm of chronic liver diseases. Dietary interventions are of utmost importance in its management. This research, grounded in data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) spanning 1999-2018 and the National Death Index (NDI), was designed to clarify the association between dietary vitamin E intake and mortality among MASLD patients. Our hypothesis proposed that higher dietary vitamin E intake might be inversely associated with a lower risk of mortality in this population. A total of 7883 MASLD patients were enrolled. Their dietary vitamin E intake was accurately measured via the USDA's standardized method, and numerous confounding factors were comprehensively taken into account. The findings indicated that a higher dietary vitamin E intake was significantly linked to a decreased risk of both all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in MASLD patients. Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression models vividly depicted this inverse correlation. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses further verified the reliability of the results, showing that nonsedentary patients were more sensitive to the protective effects of vitamin E. Notably, the improvement of mortality was particularly significant in patients with increased total bilirubin and fibrotic liver. This study offers valuable perspectives on the potential role of dietary vitamin E in MASLD management. It suggests that increasing dietary vitamin E intake could be a promising preventive approach.