The Association Between Egg Consumption and the Development of Hypertension and Steatotic Liver Disease

by | Feb 22, 2024 | 2024, Blood Pressure, Cardiovascular Health, Liver Health, Proteins

Written by Harold Oster, MD. Results suggest that egg consumption is associated with a decreased risk of hypertension in adults with or without steatotic liver disease.

blood pressure cuffHypertension affects over 40% of Americans and is a leading risk factor for coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure, and kidney disease1. Steatotic liver disease (SLD), also called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, is a leading cause of chronic liver disease. SLD is associated with obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and an unhealthy diet2. Egg consumption has been associated with lower blood pressure and an increased risk of SLD in some studies3,4.

Rossella Tatoli et al. studied the association of egg consumption with the risk of developing SLD and hypertension in adults. The authors analyzed data from the Multicenter Italian Study on Cholelithiasis (MICOL), a prospective study created in 1984 to investigate risk factors for gallstone disease in Italian adults5. In 2017, as part of the MICOL study, participants were evaluated by questionnaires for dietary and lifestyle factors, body mass index, blood pressure, biochemical measures, and ultrasound of the liver. Weekly egg intake was quantified as less than two, two to three, and more than three. The participants were divided into four categories based on blood pressure and detection of steatosis on ultrasound: no steatosis or hypertension, hypertension without steatosis, steatosis without hypertension, and both hypertension and steatosis.

The authors noted the following:

  • Based on inclusion criteria, data from 980 participants was analyzed.
  • All participants were over sixty years old.
  • On average, participants in the group without hypertension or SLD consumed significantly more eggs than the participants with hypertension alone, SLD alone, or both conditions.
  • After adjustment for covariables, consuming more than three eggs per week was associated with a lower risk of hypertension in those with or without SLD (relative risk ratio of 0.34 and 0.27 respectively).
  • There was no association between egg consumption and steatotic liver disease.

Results suggest that egg consumption is associated with a decreased risk of developing hypertension in adults with or without steatotic liver disease. No association was evident between egg consumption and SLD. Limitations of the study include its cross-sectional design and the possibility of residual confounding variables.

Source: Tatoli, Rossella, Caterina Bonfiglio, Francesco Cuccaro, Angelo Campanella, Sergio Coletta, Pasqua Letizia Pesole, Gianluigi Giannelli, and Rossella Donghia. “Effects of Egg Consumption on Subjects with SLD or Hypertension: A MICOL Study.” Nutrients 16, no. 3 (2024): 430.

© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Swiĵerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (hĴps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Posted February 22, 2024.

Harold Oster, MD graduated from medical school in Miami, Florida in 1992 and moved to Minnesota in 2004. After more than 25 years of practicing Internal Medicine, he recently retired. Dr. Oster is especially interested in nutrition, weight management, and disease prevention. Visit his website at haroldoster.com.

References:

  1. Krist AH, Davidson KW, Mangione CM, et al. Screening for Hypertension in Adults: US Preventive Services Task Force Reaffirmation Recommendation Statement. Jama. Apr 27 2021;325(16):1650-1656. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.4987
  2. Chan WK, Chuah KH, Rajaram RB, Lim LL, Ratnasingam J, Vethakkan SR. Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD): A State-of-the-Art Review. J Obes Metab Syndr. Sep 30 2023;32(3):197-213. doi:10.7570/jomes23052
  3. Vu TT, Van Horn L, Daviglus ML, et al. Association between egg intake and blood pressure in the USA: the INTERnational study on MAcro/micronutrients and blood Pressure (INTERMAP). Public Health Nutr. Dec 2021;24(18):6272-6280. doi:10.1017/s1368980021002949
  4. Mazidi M, Mikhailidis DP, Banach M. Adverse impact of egg consumption on fatty liver is partially explained by cardiometabolic risk factors: A population-based study. Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland). Dec 2020;39(12):3730-3735. doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2020.03.035
  5. Attili AF, Capocaccia R, Carulli N, et al. Factors associated with gallstone disease in the MICOL experience. Multicenter Italian Study on Epidemiology of Cholelithiasis. Hepatology. Oct 1997;26(4):809-18. doi:10.1002/hep.510260401