Author information
1Department of Gastroenterology, Hospital General de Tomelloso, Tomelloso, 13700 Ciudad Real, Spain.
2Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Castilla-La Mancha (IDISCAM), 45004 Toledo, Spain.
3Fundación del Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos para la Investigación y la Integración. 45007 Toledo, Spain.
4Research Unit Complejo Hospitalario La Mancha Centro, 13600 Alcázar de San Juan, Spain.
5Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Princesa, 28006 Madrid, Spain.
6Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), 28006 Madrid, Spain.
Abstract
Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common concomitant condition in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We aim to assess the magnitude of this association.
Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and Scopus libraries for the period up to February 2023 to identify studies reporting cohorts of IBD patients in which NALFLD was evaluated.
Results: Eighty-nine studies were analyzed. The overall prevalence of NAFLD was 24.4% (95%CI, 19.3-29.8) in IBD, 20.2% (18.3-22.3) in Crohn's disease and 18.5% (16.4-20.8) for ulcerative colitis. Higher prevalence was found in male compared to female patients, in full papers compared to abstracts, and in cross-sectional studies compared to prospective and retrospective ones. The prevalence of NAFLD in IBD has increased in studies published from 2015 onwards: 23.2% (21.5-24.9) vs. 17.8% (13.2-22.9). Diagnostic methods for NAFLD determined prevalence figures, being highest in patients assessed by controlled attenuation parameter (38.8%; 33.1-44.7) compared to ultrasonography (28.5%; 23.1-34.2) or other methods. The overall prevalence of fibrosis was 16.7% (12.2-21.7) but varied greatly according to the measurement method.
Conclusion: One-quarter of patients with IBD might present with NAFLD worldwide. This proportion was higher in recent studies and in those that used current diagnostic methods.