PLoS ONE (Jan 2020)

Association of worsening of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with cardiometabolic function and intestinal bacterial overgrowth: A cross-sectional study.

  • Marília Marques Pereira Lira,
  • José Eymard Moraes de Medeiros Filho,
  • Vinícius José Baccin Martins,
  • Gitana da Silva,
  • Francisco Antônio de Oliveira Junior,
  • Éder Jackson Bezerra de Almeida Filho,
  • Alexandre Sérgio Silva,
  • João Henrique da Costa-Silva,
  • José Luiz de Brito Alves

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237360
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 8
p. e0237360

Abstract

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Background & aimsNon-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been associated with small bowel bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and cardiometabolic dysfunction. This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the cardio-metabolic parameters and SIBO in patients with different degrees of hepatic fibrosis estimated by NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS).MethodsSubjects (n = 78) were allocated to three groups: Healthy control (n = 30), NAFLD with low risk of advanced fibrosis (NAFLD-LRAF, n = 17) and NAFLD with a high risk of advanced fibrosis (NAFLD-HRAF, n = 31). Anthropometrics, blood pressure, electrocardiogram and heart rate variability (HRV) were evaluated. Only the NAFLD-LRAF and NAFLD-HRAF groups were submitted to blood biochemical analysis and glucose hydrogen breath tests.ResultsThe NAFLD-HRAF group had higher age and body mass index when compared to the control and NAFLD-LRAF groups. The prevalence of SIBO in the NAFLD group was 8.33%. The low frequency/high-frequency ratio (LF/HF ratio) was augmented in NAFLD-LRAF (p ConclusionsNAFLD impairs cardiac autonomic function. Greater impairment was found in subjects with a worse degree of hepatic fibrosis estimated by NFS. Hypoalbuminemia and thrombocytopenia were higher in subjects with a worse degree of hepatic fibrosis, whereas prevalence of SIBO positive was similar between the groups.