Neither hepatic steatosis nor fibrosis is associated with clinical outcomes in patients with intestinal Behçet’s disease
Hye Kyung Hyun, Jihye Park, Soo Jung Park, Jae Jun Park, Tae Il Kim, Jae Seung Lee, Hye Won Lee, Beom Kyung Kim, Jun Yong Park, Do Young Kim, Sang Hoon Ahn, Seung Up Kim, Jae Hee Cheon- Gastroenterology
- Hepatology
Background
Behçet’s disease (BD) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are chronic inflammatory diseases that share pathogenetic mechanisms. In this study, we investigated whether NAFLD influences the clinical outcomes in patients with intestinal BD.
Methods
Patients with intestinal BD and available hepatic steatosis index (HSI) and fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) scores were recruited between 2005 and 2022. An HSI of ≥30 and FIB-4 of ≥1.45 were used to diagnose hepatic steatosis and significant liver fibrosis, respectively. The primary outcomes were intestinal BD-related hospitalization, surgery, emergency room visits, or the first use of corticosteroids, immunomodulators, or biologic agents for intestinal BD.
Results
A total of 780 patients with BD were selected. The prevalence of hepatic steatosis and significant liver fibrosis were 72.3% and 8.8%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that younger age, prior smoking history, concomitant skin lesions, higher white blood cell count, and lower serum albumin levels were independently associated with an increased risk of clinical relapse (all
Conclusion
Hepatic steatosis and liver fibrotic burden were not independently associated with clinical outcomes in patients with intestinal BD.