Lack of association between early menopause and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in postmenopausal women

Abstract

Background: The possibility of an association between early menopause and the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is as yet unclear.Methods: The subjects consisted of 4354 postmenopausal women who participated in the 2010–2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Early, normal, and late menopause were defined as age at menopause <45 years, 45–54 years, and ≥55 years, respectively. NAFLD was defined by a hepatic steatosis index of >36.Results: When compared with normal menopausal women, early or late menopausal women had no significant differences in the odds ratios (ORs) of NAFLD: OR = 1.05, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.83–1.32 and OR = 1.02, 95% CI, 0.75–1.39, respectively. These results remained similar after adjustment for known risk factors for NAFLD, reproductive factors, and comorbidities. The OR for NAFLD per 1-year increase in age at menopause was 1.01 (95% CI, 0.99–1.03; p = 0.329). The prevalence of advanced fibrosis was 2.1% (95% CI, 0.7–6.4%), 2.2% (95% CI, 1.3–3.8%), and 3.9% (95% CI, 1.2–12.2%) in early, normal, and late menopausal women, respectively.Conclusions: This study provides no evidence for an association of early menopause with NAFLD risk. However, NAFLD-related advanced fibrosis is highly prevalent in postmenopausal women.