Scientists have linked eating at night with an increased risk of liver disease

The timing of meals may be related to liver health no less than the composition of the diet. Research shows that the internal biological clock is involved in the regulation of metabolism, and eating at the wrong time for the body can affect these processes. About how late dinners and snacks are associated with liver diseases — in the Izvestia article.

Late meals linked to risk of fatty liver disease

People who regularly eat late at night or before bedtime may have a higher risk of liver disease. This is the conclusion reached by researchers from the Oregon Health and Science University. The results of the work are published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology (CGH).

The researchers analyzed data from almost 200,000 participants in three large long-term studies. The participants reported on their eating habits, daily routine and other lifestyle features. The researchers then compared meal times with data on the development of liver disease.

The analysis showed that people who regularly ate late at night had a 20-30% higher risk of liver disease than those who avoided late meals. The conditions studied included metabolically associated steatotic liver disease, also known as fatty liver disease, and cirrhosis.

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Eating time can affect the internal biological clock.

Scientists consider circadian rhythms, internal biological processes that regulate sleep, metabolism and other body functions for about 24 hours, to be one of the possible explanations for the discovered connection. The liver is particularly sensitive to these rhythms: it is involved in the processing of nutrients, regulating blood sugar levels and managing energy reserves.

Eating at a time when the body is biologically preparing for sleep can interfere with the normal functioning of these processes. The researchers drew attention to data on people working night shifts: those whose work schedules do not match the natural cycles of sleep and wakefulness are more likely to develop obesity and cardiovascular diseases.

This suggested that irregular eating times may also be associated with metabolic disorders and liver diseases.

Andrew McHill, a specialist in sleep physiology and circadian rhythms from the University of Oregon Health and Science and co-author of the study, noted that the timing of daily activities, including sleep, nutrition and physical activity, is important.

According to him, previous experiments have shown that eating at night, when the internal biological clock promotes sleep, reduces the efficiency of food processing by the body. This may contribute to the development of obesity and diabetes, as well as, as the researchers suggest, deterioration of liver health.

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Fatty liver disease can lead to cirrhosis

Metabolically associated steatotic liver disease develops when excess fat accumulates in the tissues of the organ. In some cases, the disease is accompanied by inflammation and damage to the liver, and can then progress to cirrhosis, a condition in which healthy organ tissue is replaced by scar tissue.

According to the data provided in the article, fatty liver disease affects up to 30% of the US population. However, most people with this diagnosis do not experience severe tissue scarring. Wileczanski stressed that only a small proportion of patients reach serious forms of the disease, including cirrhosis.

Researchers consider meal timing as a possible additional factor related to liver health. However, the results obtained do not mean that a late dinner alone leads to the disease or that postponing the last meal is guaranteed to prevent its development.

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What is planned to be checked next

The work was observational in nature: scientists compared the participants' eating habits with health data, but did not directly check whether changing the meal time prevented the development of diseases. In addition, information about nutrition and daily routine was based on the messages of the participants themselves, and meal times were evaluated in general categories. Therefore, it cannot be excluded that the discovered relationship is explained by other factors.

To test whether earlier meals can have a positive effect on liver health, Wileczanski is participating in a clinical trial at the University of Oregon Health and Science. Within its framework, scientists plan to directly track the time of meals and assess whether postponing meals to an earlier time leads to measurable improvements in people with pre-existing fatty liver disease.

The authors believe that further research will help determine whether meal timing should be considered along with other approaches to maintaining metabolic health and preventing liver disease. The scientists claim that the results add to a growing body of scientific evidence linking late-night eating to adverse metabolic effects and liver disease.