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The roles of obesity and gender on the relationship between metabolic risk factors and non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease in Koreans
Author(s) -
Lee Kayoung,
Sung JungAh,
Kim JunSu,
Park TaeJin
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
diabetes/metabolism research and reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.307
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1520-7560
pISSN - 1520-7552
DOI - 10.1002/dmrr.924
Subject(s) - fatty liver , obesity , disease , medicine , alcoholic fatty liver , risk factor , environmental health
Background The effect of gender and weight status on the association between metabolic risk factors and NAFLD has not been well established. This study aimed to assess the relationships among obesity, gender, metabolic risk factors, and non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in Korean adults. Methods Abdominal ultrasounds, anthropometric measurements, and biochemical tests were performed on 13 768 Korean adults (7313 men and 6455 women) recruited from a health promotion centre between 2005 and 2006. Results Of 13 768 subjects, 25% were diagnosed with NAFLD. Weight status (obesity vs non‐obesity, odds ratio (OR) 4.4–9.7) and gender (women vs men, OR 0.6) were associated with NAFLD after adjusting for age, metabolic risk factors (high blood pressure, high glucose, high TG, low HDL, high LDL, and high uric acid), and gamma‐glutamyl transferase (γGT). For subjects with any one risk factor, the OR (95% CI) for mild fatty liver was 27 (19.3–37.8) in men and 7.9 (6.1–10.2) in women who were obese compared to non‐obese individuals having no risk factors. The ORs in men and women who were not obese were 4.7 (3.9–5.6) and 2.5 (2.2–3.0), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity for NAFLD with any one risk factor without obesity was 90–91 and 32–49%, respectively; any one risk factor combined with obesity changed the sensitivity and specificity to 64–67 and 77–85%, respectively. Conclusions Gender and weight status appear to modify the relationship between metabolic risk factors and NAFLD. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.