Serum vitamin D levels are inversely related with non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease independent of visceral obesity in Chinese postmenopausal women

Summary The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between serum vitamin D levels and both visceral adipose and with non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease ( NAFLD ) in Chinese postmenopausal women. Four hundred and fifty‐one postmenopausal women between 45 and 74 years of age (mean (±  SD ) age 57.3 ± 4.6 years) were enrolled in the study. All subjects participated in the Shanghai Obesity Study between June and August 2011 and underwent abdominal magnetic resonance imaging and an abdominal ultrasonography. Patients with a visceral fat area ( VFA ) ≥ 80 cm 2 were classified as abdominally obese. Serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D 3 (25( OH )D 3 ) levels were measured with an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. The prevalence of NAFLD in the study population was 34.8% ( n  = 157). Women with abdominal obesity had significantly lower serum 25( OH )D 3 levels than those without abdominal obesity (median (interquartile range) 11.23 (8.64–14.12) vs 12.56 (9.41–15.98) ng/mL, respectively; P  < 0.01). Regardless of abdominal obesity status, serum 25( OH )D 3 levels in patients with NAFLD were lower than those without non‐ NAFLD (11.14 (8.63–13.81) vs 12.92 (9.48–16.37) ng/mL ( P  < 0.05) for those without abdominal obesity; 10.86 (8.61–13.56) vs 11.55 (8.82–16.38) ng/mL ( P  < 0.05) for those with abdominal obesity). Partial correlation analyses demonstrated a negative correlation between serum 25( OH )D 3 levels and VFA ( P  < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis revealed that high serum 25( OH )D 3 levels were a protective factor against NAFLD after adjusting for risk factors such as VFA . In conclusion, independent of visceral obesity, vitamin D is inversely correlated with NAFLD in Chinese postmenopausal women.