New research suggests that the regular consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages could increase the risk for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

"Our study adds to a growing body of research suggesting that sugar-sweetened beverages may be linked to NAFLD and other chronic diseases including diabetes and cardiovascular disease," Jiantao Ma, first author of the study and a former doctoral student at Tufts University, said in a statement.

For the researchers analyzed more than 2,600 self-reported dietary questionnaires from mostly Caucasian middle-aged men and women enrolled in the National Heart Lunch and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Framingham Heart Study's Offspring and Third Generation cohorts.

They saw a higher prevalence of NAFLD among people who reported drinking more than one sugar-sweetened beverage per day compared to people who said they drank no sugar-sweetened beverages.

NAFLD is characterized by an accumulation of fat in the liver cells that is unrelated to alcohol consumption. NAFLD is diagnosed by ultrasounds, CT, MRI, or biopsy, and many of the approximately 25 percent of Americans with the disease don't experience any symptoms.

"Few observational studies, to date, have examined the relationship between sugar-sweetened beverages and NAFLD," Ma said. "Long-term prospective studies are needed to help ascertain the potential role of sugar-sweetened beverages in the development of NAFLD."

The findings are detailed in the Journal of Hepatology.