Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease among patients with irritable bowel syndrome: Prevalence and contribution to disease severity

Background/aim: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are common diseases in our locality.To our knowledge, no previous studies have investigated the NAFLD among patients with IBS.The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of NAFLD among patients with IBS and to explore the association of NAFLD with the severity of IBS. Patients and methods:The study included 100 consecutive patients with IBS.The diagnosis of IBS relied on Rome III criteria.For all the study population, clinical evaluation, abdominal ultrasonography, and laboratory investigations (including fasting serum levels of glucose and lipids profile) were conducted. Results:The mean age of the study population was 47 ± 12 years; 49% of them were males.Moderate/severe IBS was determined among 58% of the patients.Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was detected among 74% of the patients; moderate/severe grade was among 57% of the patients.The metabolic syndrome (MS) was diagnosed among 19% of the patients.The independent predictors of moderate/severe IBS were moderate/severe NAFLD and MS. Conclusion:In conclusion, we detected a high prevalence rate of NAFLD among patients with IBS.The predictors of moderate/severe IBS among our study patients were moderate/severe NAFLD and MS.