Patients with long-term Crohn’s disease often have coexisting non-alcoholic liver fatty liver disease (NAFLD), according to a recent study published in the journal BMC Gastroenterology. In this study, researchers have devised a predictive model based on clinical parameters to assess the risk of NAFLD in patients with Crohn’s disease. 

A total of 340 patients with diagnosed Crohn’s disease were enrolled in this study to examine the prevalence and risk of developing NAFLD. All patients underwent magnetic resonance enterography at a hospital in Shanghai, China between June 2018 and May 2020. 

Out of the 340 patients, 83 (24.4%) were found to have NAFLD using Magnetic resonance proton density fat fraction (MR-PDFF) mapping. Patients with NAFLD had higher BMI than those who did not have NAFLD; 22.3 kg/m2 vs 19.6 kg/m2, respectively; they had had Crohn’s disease for a longer duration (4 years vs 2 years, respectively) and were prescribed steroids more often; they also had markedly elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) and prealbumin.On multivariate analysis, BMI, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, prealbumin and duration of disease were found to be independent and strong predictors of the risk of NAFLD in these patients. The long-term use of anti-tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), for more than 54 weeks, had no impact on the occurrence of NAFLD. This study has demonstrated high prevalence of NAFLD in patients with Crohn’s disease and also identified disease duration, BMI and serum transaminases as factors that could predict the risk of NAFLD in them.

Hong Q, et al. BMC Gastroenterol. 2022 Apr 12;22(1):183.