Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in underweight patients with inflammatory bowel disease: A case-control study

Adams LC, Luebbe F, Bressem K, Wagner M, Hamm B, Makowski MR (2018)


Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2018

Journal

Book Volume: 13

Article Number: e0206450

Journal Issue: 11

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206450

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was shown to also occur in lean and underweight patients. So far, the prevalence of NAFLD in underweight individuals with and without inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is insufficiently enlightened. In this cross-sectional age, gender and disease-matched case-control study, underweight patients (BMI<18.5 kg/m 2 ) with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), who underwent abdominal MRI at 1.5 T/3 T with fatsaturated fast-spin-echo imaging from 10/2005-07/2018 were analysed (control-to-caseratio 1:1, n = 130). All patients were additionally investigated for duration, history of surgery, medical treatment, laboratory values, liver and spleen diameters. On MRI, liver fat was quantified by two observers based on the relative signal loss on T2-weighted fast spin-echo MR images with fat saturation compared to images without fat saturation. The prevalence of NAFLD/liver steatosis, defined as a measured intrahepatic fat content of at least 5%, was significantly higher in underweight IBD patients than in normal weight patients (87.6% versus 21.5%, p<0.001). Compared to the cases, the liver fat content of the controls was reduced by-0.19 units on average (-19%; 95%Cl: -0.20; -0.14). Similar results were obtained for the subgroup of non-IBD individuals (n = 12; -0.25 units on average (-25%); 95%Cl: -0.35; -0.14). Patients with extremely low body weight (BMI <17.5 kg/m 2 ) showed the highest liver fat content (+0.15 units on average (+15%) compared to underweight patients with a BMI of 17.5-18.5 kg/m 2 (p<0.05)). Furthermore, underweight patients showed slightly increased liver enzymes and liver diameters. There were no indications of significant differences in disease duration, type of medications or surgery between cases and controls and also, there were no significant differences between observers or field strengths (p>0.05). The prevalence of liver steatosis was higher among underweight IBD and non-IBD patients compared to normal weight controls. Also, underweight patients showed slightly increased liver enzymes and liver diameters, hinting at initial metabolic disturbances.

Involved external institutions

How to cite

APA:

Adams, L.C., Luebbe, F., Bressem, K., Wagner, M., Hamm, B., & Makowski, M.R. (2018). Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in underweight patients with inflammatory bowel disease: A case-control study. PLoS ONE, 13(11). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0206450

MLA:

Adams, Lisa C., et al. "Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in underweight patients with inflammatory bowel disease: A case-control study." PLoS ONE 13.11 (2018).

BibTeX: Download