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Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and the gut microbiota in adolescents: is there a relationship?
Doaa El Amrousy1, Heba El Ashry2, Sara Maher3,4
1Pediatric Department, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt.
Background:
Despite the increasing prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the pathophysiology is still not fully understood. Recent evidence suggests that the gut microbiota may play a role in the pathophysiology of NAFLD and may also offer new therapeutic options.
Methods:
This prospective cross-sectional study included 100 consecutive newly diagnosed obese patients (BMI ≥ 95th percentile), aged 14-18 years with NAFLD (confirmed by ultrasound), persistently elevated levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) greater than 60 U/L for 1-6 months, and 100 healthy controls. We evaluated changes in the gut microbiota in NAFLD adolescents compared with healthy controls.
Results:
According to the multiple logistic regressions, the variables associated with NAFLD were the presence of Clostridium difficile, the presence of Salmonella spp., a greater abundance of Bifidobacterium and Prevotella, and a lower abundance of Lactobacillus.
Conclusion:
Changes in the gut microbiota occur in adolescents with NAFLD compared with healthy individuals, which may be useful for identifying youths who are amenable to gut microbiota-based interventions.
Clinical Trial Number:
Not applicable.
