AUTHOR=Ng Cheng Han , Wong Zhen Yu , Chew Nicholas W. S. , Chan Kai En , Xiao Jieling , Sayed Nilofer , Lim Wen Hui , Tan Darren Jun Hao , Loke Ryan Wai Keong , Tay Phoebe Wen Lin , Yong Jie Ning , Kong Gywneth , Huang Daniel Q. , Wang Jiong-Wei , Chan Mark , Dalakoti Mayank , Tamaki Nobuharu , Noureddin Mazen , Siddiqui Mohammad Shadab , Sanyal Arun J. , Muthiah Mark TITLE=Hypertension is prevalent in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and increases all-cause and cardiovascular mortality JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine VOLUME=9 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2022.942753 DOI=10.3389/fcvm.2022.942753 ISSN=2297-055X ABSTRACT=Background and aims

Hypertension (HTN) is a common comorbidity in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affecting up to 40% of individuals. However, the impact of HTN and its control on outcomes in NAFLD remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to examine the impact of HTN on survival outcomes in a longitudinal cohort of NAFLD patients.

Methods

The analysis consisted of adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999 to 2018 with data on socio-demographic characteristics and comorbidities. NAFLD was diagnosed with fatty liver index (FLI) and United States-FLI at a cut-off of 60 and 30, respectively in the substantial absence of alcohol use. A multivariate regression analysis was conducted to adjust for confounders.

Results

A total of 45,302 adults were included, and 27.83% were identified to have NAFLD. Overall, 45.65 and 35.12% of patients with NAFLD had HTN and uncontrolled HTN, respectively. A multivariate analysis with confounders demonstrated that hypertensive NAFLD had a significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 1.39, CI: 1.14–1.68, p < 0.01) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality (HR: 1.85, CI: 1.06–3.21, p = 0.03). Untreated HTN remained to have a significantly increased risk in all-cause (HR: 1.59, CI: 1.28–1.96, p < 0.01) and CVD mortality (HR: 2.36, CI: 1.36–4.10, p < 0.01) while treated HTN had a non-significant increased risk of CVD mortality (HR: 1.51, CI: 0.87–2.63, p = 0.14) and a lower magnitude of increase in the risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 1.26, CI: 1.03–1.55, p = 0.03).

Conclusion

Despite the significant burden of HTN in NAFLD, up to a fifth of patients have adequate control, and the lack thereof significantly increases the mortality risk. With the significant association of HTN in NAFLD, patients with NAFLD should be managed with a multidisciplinary team to improve longitudinal outcomes.