Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Feb 27:2018:9638797.
doi: 10.1155/2018/9638797. eCollection 2018.

Cognitive Changes and Brain Volume Reduction in Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Branka Filipović  1   2 , Olivera Marković  1   3 , Vesna Đurić  4 , Branislav Filipović  1   5
Affiliations

Cognitive Changes and Brain Volume Reduction in Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Branka Filipović et al. Can J Gastroenterol Hepatol. .

Abstract

Studies of psychological condition of patients suffering from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease are rather equivocal about the results: while some claim that NAFLD patients suffer from anxiety and depression more than non-NAFLD controls, others do not withstand those findings. Lower cognitive potentials have also been reported, both in patient related and in animal model-based investigations, and correlated with assessed brain tissue changes. We hypothesized that NAFLD, as a condition, affects the brain tissue and, subsequently, the cognitive state. So we compared findings in 40 NAFLD positive and 36 NAFLD negative patients and correlated their brain tissue volumes with the results of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test. Binomial logistic regression verified the influence of NAFLD state leading to lower cognitive potentials: odds ratio 0.096; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.032-0.289; p < 0.001. Patients with NAFLD had a greater risk to suffer from the cognitive impairment and depression: RR = 3.9; 95% CI 1.815-8.381; p = 0.0005 and RR = 1.65; 95% CI 1.16-2.36; p = 0.006. NAFLD significantly influenced the cognitive deficit and tissue volume reduction and patients suffering from NAFLD had about four times higher risk of having a cognitive impairment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of patient selection from Department of Gastroenterohepatology.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Elwing J. E., Lustman P. J., Wang H. L., Clouse R. E. Depression, anxiety, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Psychosomatic Medicine. 2006;68(4):563–569. doi: 10.1097/01.psy.0000221276.17823.df. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Weinstein A. A., Kallman Price J., Stepanova M., et al. Depression in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and chronic viral hepatitis B and C. Psychosomatics. 2011;52(2):127–132. doi: 10.1016/j.psym.2010.12.019. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Youssef N. A., Abdelmalek M. F., Binks M., et al. Associations of depression, anxiety and antidepressants with histological severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Liver International. 2013;33(7):1062–1070. doi: 10.1111/liv.12165. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tomeno W., Kawashima K., Yoneda M., et al. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease comorbid with major depressive disorder: The pathological features and poor therapeutic efficacy. Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2015;30(6):1009–1014. doi: 10.1111/jgh.12897. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Surdea-Blaga T., Dumitraşcu D. L. Depression and anxiety in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: is there any association? Romanian Journal of Internal Medicine. 2011;49:273–280. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources