Association between Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Carotid Artery Disease in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Abstract

Abstract Background Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a clinic-pathological syndrome closely associated with obesity, dyslipidemia, diabetes and atherosclerosis. Some authors suggest that NAFLD is, in fact, another component of the metabolic syndrome. Aim of the Work To assess the relationship between NAFLD and Diabetes mellitus as risk factors for atherosclerosis by measuring carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), NAFLD Fibrosis Score and FIB-4 Score. Patients and Methods This study is a prospective case control study that was conducted on (40) NAFLD Patients (aged between 18-60 years), at Gastroenterology and Hepatology department, Ain shams university hospitals and Heliopolis hospital, divided into three groups (Group 1): included 15 patients with NAFLD and controlled T2DM, (Group 2): included 15 patients with NAFLD and uncontrolled T2DM, (Group 3): included 10 patients as with NAFLD and non-diabetic as a control group, through a period of 6 months. Results There was positive correlation between IMT with FBG (p = 0.012) and HbAIC (p = 0.011). Conclusion Our results suggest that NAFLD is extremely common in people with type 2 diabetes and is associated with a higher prevalence of CVD. The association between NAFLD and CVD appears to be independent of classical risk factors, glycemic control, medications, and presence of the metabolic syndrome. Thus, these results further confirm the hypothesis that the identification of NAFLD in type 2 diabetes may help in CVD risk prediction.