@article{ref1,
title="Childhood maltreatment and risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease - evidence of sex-specific associations in the general population",
journal="Journal of psychosomatic research",
year="2024",
author="Siewert-Markus, Ulrike and Ittermann, Till and Klinger-König, Johanna and Grabe, Hans J. and Stracke, Sylvia and Völzke, Henry and Targher, Giovanni and Dörr, Marcus and Markus, Marcello R. P. and Töpfer, Philipp",
volume="183",
number="",
pages="e111829-e111829",
abstract="BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Childhood maltreatment (CM) is linked to self-reported liver disease in adulthood. However, specific diagnostic entities, e.g., metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) as the most frequent chronic liver disease, and sex-differences have previously not been considered. <br><br>METHODS: Cross-sectional analyses were conducted in 4188 adults from a population-based cohort in Northeastern Germany after excluding individuals with excessive alcohol consumption, cirrhosis, or chronic viral hepatitis. CM-exposure was assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Liver-related outcomes included serologic liver enzymes, fibrosis-4 score (FIB-4) and, in 1863 subjects who underwent magnetic resonance imaging examination, liver fat content. Sex-stratified linear regression and logistic regression models predicting liver-related outcomes and risk for MASLD, respectively, from overall CTQ scores were adjusted for age, school education, alcohol consumption, and waist circumference. Exploratory analyses investigated effects of CTQ-subscales on liver-related outcomes and risk for MASLD. <br><br>RESULTS: In both sexes, overall CM-exposure was associated with higher levels of serum aspartate aminotransferase and FIB-4 score. In men, effects were mainly driven by physical abuse, and in women by emotional neglect. Only in men, overall CM-exposure (β = 0.70, 95%-CI 0.26-1.13, p = 0.002) and four CTQ-subscales were associated with greater liver fat content, and physical abuse (aOR = 1.22, 95%-CI 1.02-1.46, p = 0.034) and physical neglect (aOR = 1.25, 95%-CI 1.04-1.49, p = 0.015) were associated with higher risk for MASLD. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest sex differences in the association between CM and objective serum and imaging markers of MASLD in adulthood. For men especially, a history of CM-exposure may increase risk of developing MASLD in adulthood.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0022-3999",
doi="10.1016/j.jpsychores.2024.111829",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2024.111829"
}