Anemia is associated with disease severity, hepatic complications, and progression of Wilson disease: a retrospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Anemia is a common manifestation of chronic liver diseases. It is a predictor of severe disease, a high risk of complications, and poor outcomes in various liver diseases. However, it remains unclear whether anemia serves as a similar indicator in patients with Wilson disease (WD). Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between anemia and severity, hepatic complications, and the progression of WD.

METHODS: Medical data were collected retrospectively from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2020. Univariate and multivariate analyses were carried out to investigate the relationship between anemia and liver-associated disease severity, hepatic complications, and the progression of WD.

RESULTS: A total of 288 WD patients (48 with and 240 without anemia) were enrolled in the study. Multivariate linear regression revealed that WD patients with anemia had significantly higher levels of bilirubin, alanine transaminase, prothrombin time, international normalized ratio, type Ⅳ collagen, and hyaluronic acid and significantly lower levels of albumin, total cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (all P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression showed that anemia was a risk factor for gastric varices and ascites (all P < 0.05). Fully adjusted Cox regression revealed that anemia was an independent risk factor for advanced Child-Pugh classification (P = 0.034).

CONCLUSIONS: Anemia was common in WD patients and was associated with greater disease severity, a higher risk of hepatic complications, and a faster progression.