| Title: | The role of healthy lifestyle in the association between hepatic fibro-inflammation and steatosis and brain aging - a cross-sectional study |
| Journal: | Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience |
| Published: | 16 Mar 2026 |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2026.1801577 |
| URL: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2026.1801577 |
Publication 17368
WARNING: the interactive features of this website use CSS3, which your browser does not support. To use the full features of this website, please update your browser.
Abstract
This study investigated the association between liver fat, liver fibro-inflammation, and brain age, and assessed whether modifiable lifestyle factors modified the associations between liver markers and brain age. A total of 19,566 adults free from dementia and other neurological disorders were included from the UK Biobank. Liver fat and fibro-inflammation were quantified using proton density fat fraction (PDFF) and iron-corrected T1 mapping (cT1) derived from liver MRI scans. Brain age was estimated using a machine learning model based on 1,079 brain MRI phenotypes, and brain-predicted age difference (brain-PAD) was calculated. Among participants, 4,634 (23.7%) had significant steatotic liver disease (PDFF ≥ 5.5%), and 938 (4.8%) had significant fibro-inflammation (cT1 ≥ 800 ms). Both significant liver fat accumulation (β = 0.4, 95% CI: 0.21-0.59) and fibro-inflammation (β = 1.09, 95% CI: 0.74-1.44) were associated with increased brain-PAD. Joint exposure analysis showed that the association between liver fat/fibro-inflammation and increased brain-PAD was attenuated among individuals with healthy lifestyle choices. Liver fat accumulation and fibro-inflammation were associated with higher brain-PAD, with fibro-inflammation playing a key role. These associations may be attenuated in individuals with optimal lifestyle behaviors, suggesting a potentially modifiable target for intervention.</p>
5 Authors
- Jikang Shi
- Zhuoshuai Liang
- Wenhui Gao
- Huizhen Jin
- Yinglin Du
Enabling scientific discoveries that improve human health