Association between aspirin use and the risk of incident nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the association between aspirin use and the incidence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We included 53,490 participants from the Nurses’ Health Study II, a prospective US cohort study. Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were performed to assess the association between time-updated aspirin use and the risk of incident NAFLD. The exposure data included the status, duration, frequency and dosage of aspirin use. Data on the use of nonaspirin nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and acetaminophen were also collected. Over 1.1 million person-years of follow-up and 3,640 cases of incident NAFLD were documented. Compared with nonusers, current aspirin users had a significantly greater risk of NAFLD (HR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.05 − 1.29). The current use of nonsteroidal nonaspirin anti-inflammatory drugs was also positively associated with NAFLD risk (HR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.11 − 1.50). There were no significant associations with the use of acetaminophen. Aspirin use was associated with a modestly increased risk of incident NAFLD. These findings need to be confirmed in future studies.