• Masayo Kimura, Kenichiro Mikami, Tetsu Endo, Masashi Matsuzaka, Naoya Sawada, Go Igarashi, Chikara Iino, Takuma Hasegawa, Kaori Sawada, Masataka Ando, Itoyo Tokuda, Hiroyuki Suganuma, Mai Matsumoto, Shigeyuki Nakaji, and Shinsaku Fukuda.
• Department of Gastroenterology, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Japan.
• Nutrition. 2020 Nov 1; 79-80: 110984.

ObjectivesRetinol and β-carotene have been reported to be involved in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, clinical studies are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between serum the ratio of β-carotene to retinol (SC/SR) and hepatic steatosis in NAFLD diagnosed by ultrasonography.MethodsThe participants were 606 Japanese adults who were enrolled in a health survey. Clinical profile, dietary nutrition intake, blood biochemistry, serum retinol, and carotenoids were analyzed. NAFLD was defined as fatty liver on ultrasonography in the absence of other causes of steatosis.ResultsWomen had higher daily intake of α- and β-carotene, although there were no differences in daily retinol and carotenoid intake between participants with or without NAFLD in both men and women. Women had a higher SC/SR ratio than men regardless of the presence or absence of NAFLD, and the SC/SR ratio in women decreased with exacerbation of hepatic steatosis, whereas the SC/SR ratio in men did not change despite exacerbation of hepatic steatosis. After adjusting for confounding factors, the likelihood of NAFLD among participants in the highest quartile of SC/SR ratio decreased by two-thirds compared with participants in the lowest quartile (adjusted odds ratio, 0.64; 95% confidence interval, 0.21-1.92; P = 0.041). The SC/SR ratio was positively correlated with serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, and negatively correlated with serum triacylglycerol level.ConclusionsThe SC/SR ratio was lower in NAFLD with sex differences, and was associated with the severity of hepatic steatosis and lipid profile. Future studies are needed to expand on these findings.Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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