Investigation of the effects of fructose consumption on fatty liver disease in individuals applying to family medicine

Aim: The aim of our study is to question the dietary fructose and high fructose corn syrup content and amount taken in ready-made foods by the individuals participating in the study and to determine its relationship with the degree of liver steatosis, liver dimensions, hepatic artery resistance, anthropometric measurements and biochemical parameters. Increased intake of fructose causes many diseases and clinical findings. In this study, the effects of the amount of fructose consumption in individuals' diets on biochemical parameters and fatty liver will be evaluated. Materials and Methods: The population of our study consists of individuals who applied to Düzce University Research and Practice Hospital Family Medicine and Obesity Polyclinics as of 01.01.2024. Sociodemographic data, descriptive survey questions, Food Consumption Frequency and Food Consumption Records and hepatic ultrasound results of the individuals participating in the study were collected. These data were evaluated by comparing them with biochemical parameters (HOMA-IR, HDL, LDL, TG, glucose, fasting insulin, AST, ALT) routinely checked in the outpatient clinic. Statistical analyzes were made with the SPSS v.22 package program, and the significance level was considered as 0.05. Results: The study included 189 individuals, 52.9% of whom were female and 47.1% were male. Individuals with high fructose consumption had significantly higher fasting insulin, triglyceride levels, and HOMA-IR values (p<0.05) but no significant results were obtained with serum ALT, AST, fasting glucose, HDL, LDL, total cholesterol, HbA1c, and HARI values (p>0.05).In our study, individuals with a daily fructose consumption of over 50 grams had significantly higher liver steatosis than those with a daily fructose consumption of 50 grams or less (p<0.05). Liver size was found to be significantly higher in individuals with a high fructose consumption (p<0.05). The ratio of energy obtained from fructose to energy obtained from all foods was found to be significantly higher in the group with fatty liver (p<0.05). The amount of fructose consumption was found to be significantly higher with the high number of daily snacks, the need for sweets during the day, and the choice of unhealthy snacks during the day (p<0.05). It was found that there was no significant relationship between the amount of fructose consumption and gender, education and income status, water consumption, and use of food supplements (p>0.05). Conclusion: We found that the amount of fructose consumption was significantly higher in individuals who had a high number of daily snacks, whose first choice when hungry was unhealthy snacks, and who needed to eat sweets during the day. We observed a significant increase in the incidence of fatty liver and serum fasting insulin, fasting triglyceride, and HOMA-IR values with high fructose consumption. In our study, we have shown that excessive amounts of fructose-containing natural foods, which are normally considered healthy snacks, may be harmful, and we have demonstrated again that fructose syrup-containing snacks are also harmful. Keywords: Fructose, High fructose corn syrup, fatty liver, insulin resistance, triglycerides, HOMA-IR.