TY - JOUR
T1 - Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with cognitive function in adults
AU - Seo, Sang Won
AU - Gottesman, Rebecca F.
AU - Clark, Jeanne M.
AU - Hernaez, Ruben
AU - Chang, Yoosoo
AU - Kim, Changsoo
AU - Ha, Kyoung Hwa
AU - Guallar, Eliseo
AU - Lazo, Mariana
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 American Academy of Neurology.
PY - 2016/3/22
Y1 - 2016/3/22
N2 - Objective: We hypothesized that nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is independently associated with cognitive impairment in a representative sample of the general US population regardless of the presence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) or its risk factors. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 4,472 adults aged 20-59 years who participated in the Third National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey. The participants underwent assessment of liver enzyme activity and hepatic steatosis by ultrasound, and underwent cognitive evaluation using the following computer-administered tests: the Simple Reaction Time Test (SRTT), the Symbol-Digit Substitution Test (SDST), and the Serial Digit Learning Test (SDLT). We defined NAFLD as moderate/severe steatosis as determined by ultrasound in the absence of hepatitis B or C or excessive alcohol consumption. We used multiple linear regression models to examine the association between NAFLD and cognitive function while controlling for potential confounders. Results: Participants with NAFLD showed lower overall performance on the SDLT (β 0.726, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.105-1.347), while associations with SRTT and SDST did not reach significance. Increased activity of the liver enzymes alanine aminotransferase (β 0.018, 95% CI 0.006-0.030) and aspartate aminotransferase (β 0.021, 95% CI 0.005-0.037) correlated with lower performance on the SDLT, while increased alanine aminotransferase was also correlated with lower performance in the SDST (β 0.002, 95% CI 0.0001-0.004). Conclusions: NAFLD was independently associated with lower cognitive performance independent of CVD and its risk factors. Given the scarcity of risk factors associated with age-related cognitive decline, these findings may have significant implications.
AB - Objective: We hypothesized that nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is independently associated with cognitive impairment in a representative sample of the general US population regardless of the presence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) or its risk factors. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 4,472 adults aged 20-59 years who participated in the Third National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey. The participants underwent assessment of liver enzyme activity and hepatic steatosis by ultrasound, and underwent cognitive evaluation using the following computer-administered tests: the Simple Reaction Time Test (SRTT), the Symbol-Digit Substitution Test (SDST), and the Serial Digit Learning Test (SDLT). We defined NAFLD as moderate/severe steatosis as determined by ultrasound in the absence of hepatitis B or C or excessive alcohol consumption. We used multiple linear regression models to examine the association between NAFLD and cognitive function while controlling for potential confounders. Results: Participants with NAFLD showed lower overall performance on the SDLT (β 0.726, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.105-1.347), while associations with SRTT and SDST did not reach significance. Increased activity of the liver enzymes alanine aminotransferase (β 0.018, 95% CI 0.006-0.030) and aspartate aminotransferase (β 0.021, 95% CI 0.005-0.037) correlated with lower performance on the SDLT, while increased alanine aminotransferase was also correlated with lower performance in the SDST (β 0.002, 95% CI 0.0001-0.004). Conclusions: NAFLD was independently associated with lower cognitive performance independent of CVD and its risk factors. Given the scarcity of risk factors associated with age-related cognitive decline, these findings may have significant implications.
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U2 - 10.1212/WNL.0000000000002498
DO - 10.1212/WNL.0000000000002498
M3 - Article
C2 - 26911638
AN - SCOPUS:84961644555
SN - 0028-3878
VL - 86
SP - 1136
EP - 1142
JO - Neurology
JF - Neurology
IS - 12
ER -