Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 May 27;16(5):e0252286.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252286. eCollection 2021.

Evaluation of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in patients with inflammatory bowel disease using controlled attenuation parameter technology: A Taiwanese retrospective cohort study

Hsu-Heng Yen  1   2   3   4 , Pei-Yuan Su  1 , Siou-Ping Huang  1 , Lisha Wu  1 , Tsui-Chun Hsu  1 , Ya-Huei Zeng  1 , Yang-Yuan Chen  1   4   5
Affiliations

Evaluation of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in patients with inflammatory bowel disease using controlled attenuation parameter technology: A Taiwanese retrospective cohort study

Hsu-Heng Yen et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background/purpose: An increased prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is observed in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Western countries. Both intestinal inflammation and metabolic factors contribute to the pathogenesis of IBD-associated NAFLD. The burden of NAFLD is not clear in the Asian population. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of NAFLD and liver fibrosis in a cohort of Taiwanese patients with IBD.

Methods: From January to December 2019, patients with IBD who underwent ultrasound examination were enrolled. Hepatic steatosis and fibrosis were measured with liver stiffness measurement (LSM) and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) using FibroScan. Patients with a history of excessive alcohol or recent steroid use were excluded. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed.

Results: A total of 81 consecutive patients were enrolled and included in the analysis (45 with ulcerative colitis, 36 with Crohn's disease). The median age was 42 years old. The patients were classified in terms of body mass index as normal weight (54.3%), underweight (11.1%), overweight (28.4%), and obese (6.2%). The mean CAP increased to 162.22 dB/m in the underweight group, 210.86 dB/m in the normal weight group, 260.7 dB/m in the overweight group, and 274.0 dB/m in the obese group. NAFLD was observed in 29.6% of the patients, 1.2% of which had significant fibrosis. Increased body mass index (odds ratio [OR] 1.33, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1-1.62) and older age at IBD diagnosis (OR: 1.05, 95% CI 1-1.11) was found to be associated with the presence of NAFLD.

Conclusion: In this study, the prevalence of NAFLD was lower (29.6%) in IBD patients than in the Western population. Higher BMI and older age were associated with NAFLD in our study.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Differences in the FibroScan controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) scores (vertical line) between the different weight classes (horizontal line).
Data are expressed as mean ± standard error. *P < 0.05 and ***P < 0.001.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Differences in the FibroScan controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) scores (vertical line) between different ultrasound fatty (horizontal line) grades.
Data are expressed as mean ± standard error. ***P < 0.001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Yen HH, Chen MW, Chang YY, Huang HY, Hsu TC, Chen YY. Predictive values of stool-based tests for mucosal healing among Taiwanese patients with ulcerative colitis: a retrospective cohort analysis. PeerJ. 2020;8:e9537. Epub 2020/08/04. 10.7717/peerj.9537 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yen HH, Weng MT, Tung CC, Wang YT, Chang YT, Chang CH, et al.. Epidemiological trend in inflammatory bowel disease in Taiwan from 2001 to 2015: a nationwide populationbased study. Intest Res. 2019;17(1):54–62. Epub 2018/11/20. 10.5217/ir.2018.00096 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wei SC, Chang TA, Chao TH, Chen JS, Chou JW, Chou YH, et al.. Management of ulcerative colitis in Taiwan: consensus guideline of the Taiwan Society of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Intest Res. 2017;15(3):266–84. Epub 2017/07/04. 10.5217/ir.2017.15.3.266 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wei SC, Chang TA, Chao TH, Chen JS, Chou JW, Chou YH, et al.. Management of Crohn’s disease in Taiwan: consensus guideline of the Taiwan Society of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Intest Res. 2017;15(3):285–310. Epub 2017/07/04. 10.5217/ir.2017.15.3.285 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tien YC, Yen HH, Chiu YM. Incidence and clinical characteristics of hepatitis B virus reactivation in HBsAg-negative/HBcAb-positive patients receiving rituximab for rheumatoid arthritis. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2017;35(5):831–6. Epub 2017/04/05. . - PubMed

Publication types

Grants and funding

The authors received funding for this manuscript from Changhua Christian Hospital (109-IRPCCH-008 and 108-CCHIRP-018). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.