NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE - A COMMON FINDING AMONG PATIENTS WITH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE.

Background and Aims. Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are caused by a dysregulated immune response in the hosts, favored by genetic susceptibility. In addition to symptoms related to the digestive tract, about 40% of patients with IBD also experience extraintestinal manifestations. Although, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been frequently associated with IBDs, the relationship between these two pathologies remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of NAFLD among IBD patients, as well as the factors that connect these two conditions. Material and methods. From January 2022 to November 2022, consecutive IBD patients were enrolled from a tertiary care center hospital in Iasi. Patients' demographic information, clinical characteristics including blood pressure, biological parameters, and anthropometric measurements were collected. Following informed consent, participants underwent a fibroscan evaluation for liver stiffness measurement (LSM) and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP). Results. 93 patients with IBD were enrolled (65,3% men, 55,6% with ulcerative colitis). 45 (48,3%) of them were diagnosed with NAFLD, with a mean CAP score of 283 ± 33.4 vs. 215 ± 23.7 in patients with IBD only. Regarding liver fibrosis, mean LSM value in the NAFLD group was 6.8 ± 1.9 kPa vs. 5.7 ± 2.3 kPa in the non-NALFD group. Subjects with NAFLD exhibited higher body mass indexes than those with IBD only (26.2 vs. 33.1, p<0.05). In addition, the prevalence of diabetes was much greater among this group (27.5% vs. 0%; p=0.0001), as was the prevalence of elevated HbA1c levels in the absence of a diabetes diagnosis (14% vs. 7.35%; p=0.23). They also had a non-significantly higher mean systolic blood pressure and greater incidences of hypertension. Compared to those without NAFLD, the NAFLD cohort had higher rates of diagnosed hypercholesterolaemia, were older with a higher mean disease duration and had a higher nonsignificant level of triglycerides. The 10-year risk of myocardial infarction or death estimated by the Framingham risk scores for hard coronary heart disease was higher in the NAFLD group (2.32% vs. 4.27%, p=0.0024). Conclusions. NAFLD is a multifaceted condition that is becoming more common in IBD patients. Although the present evidences in the literature suggest a small risk for the advance of liver fibrosis, the cardiovascular risk seems to be of a greater interest. Considering the above data, patients with IBD should be evaluated with a multidisciplinary approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]