Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are frequent complaints from individuals with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Dyspepsia is a universal clinical symptom and is among the most common GI complaints observed in the general population, but its prevalence in the population with NAFLD has not been previously investigated.
Mean age and sex were similar between the groups. The NAFLD group presented higher frequency of proton-pump inhibitor usage (31.3% vs 4.8%; P < 0.001) and prevalence of FD (25.0% versus 12.4%; P = 0.021). The symptom frequencies were as follows postprandial distress, 22.9% versus 11.4% (P = 0.030); postprandial fullness, 18.8% versus 10.5% (P = 0.095); early satiation, 8.3% versus 5.7% (P = 0.466); and epigastric pain or burning, 18.8% versus 5.7% (P = 0.004), in NAFLDpatients and controls, respectively. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that femalesex (odds ratio, OR 6.97; 95% confidence interval, CI 1.51-32.12; P = 0.013) and NAFLDdiagnosis (OR 2.45; 95% CI 1.14-5.27; P = 0.021) were independently associated with FD occurrence.
CONCLUSION:
FD occurs more frequently in individuals with NAFLD than in controls without hepatic disease.