Late-night eating linked to higher liver disease rates

An analysis of nearly 200,000 people found that those who reported eating after dinner or bedtime had higher rates of liver disease than those who did not, according to researchers at Oregon Health & Science University. The study reports an association, not evidence that late-night eating causes the diseases. The researchers analyzed self-reported diet and lifestyle information from participants in three U.S. studies: the Nurses’ Health Study, the Nurses’ Health Study II and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. They reported 20% to 30% higher rates of liver disease among people who said they ate after dinner or bedtime. The conditions examined included metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, in which fat accumulates in the liver, and cirrhosis. The findings were published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology on October 9. The analysis grouped participants according to reported eating habits and compared those patterns with reports of fatty liver disease or cirrhosis. Because the study relied on observational data and broadly defined, self-reported eating behavior, it cannot establish whether meal timing itself explains the difference.