Association between hemoglobin levels and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in patients with young-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Abstract

This retrospective study aimed to investigate the relationship between hemoglobin (Hb) levels and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in patients with young-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Data were collected for 296 patients with young-onset T2DM admitted to the first Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from May 2017 to January 2020. Subjects were divided into NAFLD (n = 186) and non-NAFLD groups (n = 110). Patients with NAFLD had significantly higher Hb levels (p = 0.001). According to logistic regression analysis, Hb levels were significantly correlated with NAFLD after adjusting for confounding factors [odds ratio (OR) = 1.024, 95% confidence interval = 1.003-1.046, p = 0.028]. Subjects were also grouped according to Hb quartiles. After adjusting for sex and body mass index (BMI), the OR (95%CI) for NAFLD significantly increased with increasing Hb levels (p for trend = 0.009). Patients were also divided into lean (BMI <25 kg/m2, n = 139) and overweight/obese groups (BMI ≥25 kg/m2, n = 157), with adjusted ORs (95%CI) for the highest quartiles of 1.797 (0.559-5.776) and 6.009 (1.328-27.181), respectively. Further quartile classification of Hb according to sex showed adjusted OR (95%CI) for the highest compared with the lowest quartile of 2.796 (1.148-6.814) for males and 2.945 (0.482-17.997) for females. In conclusion, high Hb levels were associated with the presence of NAFLD in patients with young-onset T2DM, especially in males and overweight/obese patients.