Smoking, fructose may worsen liver disease

BARCELONA, Spain, April 28 (UPI) -- Smoking and eating fructose can worsen non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, U.S. researchers suggest.

Dr. Ramon Bataller and colleagues at the Hospital Clinic in Barcelona, Spain, investigated the effects of cigarette smoking in obese rats.

Consumption of dietary fructose has increased by 1,000 percent in the last four decades, contributing to obesity, which is a major cause of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, the researchers said.

The study, published in the journal Hepatology, found obese rats exposed to cigarette smoke showed a significant increase in serum levels indicating liver disease. This was not observed in a control group of rats, the study said.

"Our results show that cigarette smoking causes oxidative stress and worsens the severity of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in obese rats," Bataller said in a statement.

"Further studies should investigate longer exposures to cigarette smoking and assess whether this finding also occurs in patients with obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease."