| Title: | Obesity drives the link between liver fat and depression: Cross-sectional and prospective investigations |
| Journal: | Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism |
| Published: | 24 Jun 2025 |
| Pubmed: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40555708/ |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1111/dom.16562 |
| URL: | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/dom.16562 |
Publication 16410
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Abstract
AIMS: Inconsistent associations have been reported between steatotic liver disease (SLD) and depression. We aimed to investigate the cross-sectional and prospective associations between MRI-derived liver fat, SLD and depression.</p>
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used UK Biobank data. Liver fat was measured with liver MRI proton density fat fraction. SLD was defined as liver fat ≥5%. Depression was identified through self-reported diagnosis and hospital records. We examined cross-sectional associations using logistic regression and prospective associations using Cox proportional hazards models, adjusting for potential confounders, including socioeconomic status, lifestyle factors and body mass index (BMI).</p>
RESULTS: Participants numbering 36 587 were included (age 64.5 years, 51.4% females, 28.2% SLD), and of these, 2849 participants had prevalent depression, higher in individuals with SLD (9.1%) than in those without (7.3%). SLD was associated with 40% higher odds of depression (OR: 1.40 (1.29, 1.52)) after adjusting for age, sex and socioeconomic status, but this was attenuated (OR: 1.12 (1.01, 1.23)) after adjusting for BMI. In the prospective analysis (n = 33 762), 414 people received a new diagnosis of depression over a median follow-up of 4.5 years. SLD was initially associated with a 27% higher depression risk (HR: 1.27 [1.03, 1.56]), but this was no longer significant after BMI adjustment (HR: 0.93 (0.73, 1.18)). Liver fat (per 5% increase) was not associated with depression risk (HR: 1.02 (0.92, 1.12)). No sex differences were identified.</p>
CONCLUSIONS: The association between liver fat and depression is likely due to reverse causation and the confounding effect of BMI.</p>
17 Keywords
- Aged
- Body Mass Index
- Cross-Sectional Studies
- Depression
- Fatty Liver
- Female
- Humans
- Liver
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
- Obesity
- Prevalence
- Prospective Studies
- Risk Factors
- United Kingdom
4 Authors
- Qi Feng
- Chioma N. Izzi-Engbeaya
- Pinelopi Manousou
- Mark Woodward
1 Application
| Application ID | Title |
|---|---|
| 74018 | Sex differences in the determinants and outcomes of multimorbidity clusters and their constituent conditions in the UK Biobank Study |
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