Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

NAFLD May Quicken Brain Aging

Patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) tend to have a smaller total cerebral brain volume, suggesting a potential association between hepatic steatosis and brain aging, according to a recent study.

From November 6, 2002, to March 16, 2011, the researchers evaluated 766 individuals from the Offspring cohort of the Framingham Study who did not consume excessive amounts of alcohol and did not have stroke or dementia. Mean patient age at the time of brain MRI was 67 years, and 137 (17.9%) patients had NAFLD.
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The cross-sectional association of NAFLD with several brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures were analyzed via linear or logistic regression, and results were adjusted for various factors.

Adjusted results revealed a significant association between NAFLD and smaller total cerebral brain volume. Specifically, the differences in total cerebral brain volume between NAFLD and non-NAFLD patients corresponded to 4.2 years of brain aging in the general sample and to 7.3 years in those younger than age 60 years.

The researchers noted that there were no statistically significant associations between NAFLD and hippocampal or white matter hyperintensity volumes or covert brain infarcts.

“Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with a smaller total cerebral brain volume, independent of visceral adipose tissue and cardiometabolic risk factors, pointing to a possible link between hepatic steatosis and brain aging,” the researchers concluded.

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Weinstein G, Zelber-Sagi S, Preis SR, et al. Association of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with lower brain volume in healthy middle-aged adults in the Framingham study. JAMA Neurol. 2018;75(1):97-104. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2017.3229.