People with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) might be at higher risk of colorectal polyps than their peers without the condition, with men being at most risk, a study suggests.

The systematic review and meta-analysis of 14 observational studies showed that a NAFLD diagnosis was associated with a 34% increase in odds of having a colorectal polyp, compared with people without the disease.

A similar analysis of six longitudinal cohort studies showed that people with NAFLD were 60% more likely to develop a colorectal polyp than people without the condition over a maximum of 7.5 years’ follow-up.

But there was no association between the severity of NAFLD and likelihood of colorectal cancer, the authors said, from the gastroenterology department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Guandong Province in China..