Adult studies show a link between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the absence of established risk factors. There is a scarcity of data among children with IBD. The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of NAFLD in a single-center paediatric IBD cohort and to identify possible risk factors. The study included children with IBD who had regular abdominal magnetic resonance enterography after receiving consent from the institutional review board. The PDFF (proton density fat fraction) was then calculated using magnetic resonance enterography. A total of 83 IBD patients were identified and PDFF maps were created. Five (6%) people were found to have PDFF levels more than 5%, indicating they had NAFLD.
None of the risk variables studied, including age, gender, diagnosis, time since diagnosis, medication, median alanine aminotransferase, and weight status, were statistically significant when compared to individuals with IBD who did not have NAFLD. The data show that NAFLD is occult in paediatric IBD. The frequency is consistent with what is predicted in general adolescent groups.
