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Abstract Details
The Potential Role of Fatigue in Identifying Patients With NASH and Advanced Fibrosis Who Experience Disease Progression
Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2023 Apr;21(4):970-977.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2022.04.023.Epub 2022 May 6.
1Medicine Service Line, Inova Health System, Falls Church, Virginia; Betty and Guy Beatty Center for Integrated Research, Inova Health System, Falls Church, Virginia; Center for Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia. Electronic address: zobair.younossi@inova.org.
2Medicine Service Line, Inova Health System, Falls Church, Virginia; Betty and Guy Beatty Center for Integrated Research, Inova Health System, Falls Church, Virginia; Center for Outcomes Research in Liver Diseases, Washington DC.
3Gilead Sciences, Foster City, California.
4Center for Outcomes Research in Liver Diseases, Washington DC.
Abstract
Background and aims: Fatigue is common in patients with advanced liver disease. We investigated fatigue and clinical outcomes among patients with advanced nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
Methods: In this study, patients with biopsy confirmed NASH and bridging fibrosis (F3) or compensated cirrhosis (F4) were followed for up to 2 years. The Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire for Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (CLDQ-NASH) fatigue domain at baseline (range, 1-7; lower score indicating worse fatigue) quantified fatigue. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to study time to liver-related clinical events (progression to histologic cirrhosis or hepatic decompensation in F3, hepatic decompensation in F4).
Results: Of the 1679 NASH patients with fibrosis, 802 had F3 and 877 had F4 (58 ± 9 years of age, 40% male, 74% type 2 diabetes). During median follow-up of 16 months (interquartile range, 14-18), 15% (n = 123) of NASH F3 patients experienced liver-related events and 3.5% (n = 31) of NASH F4 patients experienced hepatic decompensation. Mean baseline CLDQ-NASH fatigue score in F3 patients was 4.77 ± 1.36; NASH F3 patients who experienced liver-related events had lower baseline scores: 4.47 ± 1.36 vs 4.83 ± 1.35 (P = .0091). The mean fatigue score in F4 was 4.56 ± 1.44; these scores were lower in patients who decompensated in follow-up: 3.74 ± 1.31 vs 4.59 ± 1.43 (P = .0011). The association of lower fatigue scores and risk of liver-related or decompensation events was significant after adjustment for confounders (adjusted hazard ratio per 1 point in fatigue score in F3, 0.85; 95% confidence interval, 0.74-0.97; P = .02; adjusted hazard ratio in F4, 0.62; 95% confidence interval, 0.48-0.81; P = .0004).
Conclusion: Worse fatigue at baseline is associated with a higher risk of adverse clinical events in patients with NASH-related advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis.