IBD Doubles Likelihood of MASLD in Lean Individuals
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an independent risk factor for metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) in lean patients, according to a study published in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.
“These findings suggest that MASLD should also be suspected in lean patients with IBD, and lifestyle measures could be prescribed to treat or prevent this entity,” wrote corresponding author Samuel J. Martínez-Domínguez, MD, of Lozano Blesa University Hospital, Zaragoza, Spain, and study coauthors.
The finding stemmed from a study that included 300 lean patients with IBD and 80 lean controls without IBD, as well as 346 overweight/obese patients with IBD and 106 overweight/obese controls without IBD. Participants underwent liver ultrasound, transient elastography, and laboratory tests.
The prevalence of MASLD was significantly higher in the lean group with IBD (21.3%) compared with the lean group without IBD (10%), according to the study, although the prevalence of significant liver disease did not differ between the 2 groups. Compared with overweight/obese patients with IBD, lean patients with IBD had a significantly lower prevalence of MASLD.
Researchers reported a 2.71 odds ratio for MASLD in lean patients with IBD compared with lean controls without IBD after adjusting for classic metabolic risk factors and a prior history of systemic steroids. However, they found no association between IBD-related factors and MASLD development in lean patients with IBD.
Compared with lean patients with IBD and MASLD, overweight/obese patients with IBD and MASLD had higher levels of insulin resistance and smoking history, the study found.
“Future studies should be carried out to identify factors associated with MASLD development in IBD population to guide screening strategies, which should not be based only on BMI [body mass index],” researchers advised.
Reference
Martínez-Domínguez SJ, García-Mateo S, Gargallo-Puyuelo CJ, et al. Inflammatory bowel disease is an independent risk factor for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease in lean individuals. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2024;30(8):1274-1283. doi: 10.1093/ibd/izad175
