ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and colorectal cancer share several risk factors. However the relationship between NAFLD and colorectal adenoma is unclear. Therefore, we investigated the possibility of an association between NAFLD and colorectal adenoma. METHODS: We reviewed the records of 3,106 subjects who had undergone colonoscopy and abdominal ultrasonography between April 2007 and August 2009. RESULTS: The sex ratio (male/female) was 4.94:1 and the mean age was 50.6+/-9.7 years in patients with colorectal adenoma; the corresponding numbers were 2.23: 1 and 45.0+/-9.2 years in patients without colorectal adenoma (p<0.001). The prevalence of NAFLD was 26.0% in the adenoma group and 21.4% in the control group (p=0.013). Additionally, there were positive associations between colorectal adenoma and BMI and lipid profile. Among the risk factors selected by univariate analysis, older age (OR 2.592; 95% CI 2.087~3.219), and being male (OR 2.470; 95% CI 1.878~3.247) were independent risk factors for colorectal adenoma. Patients with NAFLD had more colorectal adenomas (p=0.005) and their adenomas were located more in the proximal colon (p=0.009). CONCLUSIONS: NAFLD is not associated with increased risk for colorectal adenoma. However, among patients with NAFLD, colorectal adenomas were likely to be increased in number and they were likely to be located in the proximal colon.