AssociaþÒo entre índice glicÛmico e carga glicÛmica dietéticos e doenþa hepática gordurosa nÒo alcoólica em idosos / [Relationship between dietary glycemic index and glycemic load and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in elderly].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate if there is an association between glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) of the diet and the presence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in the elderly. METHODS: Retrospective study, composed of 229 patients seen at the Outpatient Clinic of Arterial Hyperten- sion in a public hospital, 103 carriers and 126 noncarriers of NAFLD. Food intake was analyzed to GI and GL. RESULTS: We found a high prevalence of inadequate dietary GI, with an average of 62.0 +/- 6.3 among patients with NAFLD and 62.5 +/- 6.5 among patients without NAFLD. The same occurred with the GL, 101.7 +/- 33.3 and 101.4 +/- 40.2, respectively, between carriers and noncarriers of the disease. There was no statistical difference between the values of GI and GL found in the diet of patients with and without NAFLD. CONCLUSION: In the evaluated group there was no association between GI and GL dietetic with NAFLD, but the findings put all of the patients at higher risk for the development of chronic diseases.