Liver Health in the General Population: the Role of Diet, Body Composition and the Gut Microbiome

Studying the effect of lifestyle on the development of liver disease requires a large study cohort. Fortunately, with the non-invasive diagnostic tools that are available today, we were able to study liver disease in a large elderly population, the so-called Rotterdam Study. In this dissertation entitled “Lifestyle and liver disease in the general population” we focussed on the rather mild spectrum of liver disease, i.e. steatosis and/or fibrosis in which non-invasive lifestyle measures might play a preventing or reversing role. Firstly, we examined the role of coffee consumption in attenuating or preventing liver disease. Secondly, we studied the role of diet in relation to NAFLD. Thirdly, we focussed on the connection between the different aspects of body composition and NAFLD. And finally, we studied the gut microbiome and its predicted function in hepatic steatosis.