Obesity, Not Liver Fat, Drives Link Between Depression and Fatty Liver Disease: UK Biobank Study
UK: A new study published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism sheds light on the complex connection between liver fat accumulation and depression. The research, led by Qi Feng from The George Institute for Global Health (UK) and Imperial College London, suggests that obesity—not liver fat itself—is the key factor linking steatotic liver disease (SLD) and depression.
Using data from the UK Biobank, the study included over 36,500 participants with a mean age of 64.5 years, of whom more than half were female. Liver fat was assessed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-derived proton density fat fraction, and SLD was defined as liver fat content equal to or above 5%. Depression was determined based on self-reported diagnoses and hospital records.
The study revealed the following findings:
- In the cross-sectional analysis, individuals with steatotic liver disease (SLD) had a higher prevalence of depression compared to those without SLD (9.1% vs 7.3%).
- After adjusting for age, sex, and socioeconomic status, SLD was associated with a 40% higher odds of depression.
- This association reduced significantly to a 12% increase in odds after accounting for body mass index (BMI), suggesting obesity may be a key confounding factor.
- In the prospective analysis involving over 33,700 individuals followed for a median of 4.5 years, 414 new cases of depression were identified.
- Initially, SLD was linked to a 27% increased risk of developing depression.
- After adjusting for BMI, this association was no longer statistically significant.
- Incremental increases in liver fat (per 5%) were not linked to future risk of depression.
- The study found no significant differences in these associations between men and women.
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