Non-invasive diagnosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: impact of age and other risk factors

Abstract

Background and objectives Little is known regarding the diagnostic performance of fibrosis scoring systems in the diagnosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We aimed to determine the risk factors of NAFLD and evaluate the diagnostic performance of noninvasive fibrosis scoring systems. Materials and methods The study included consecutive patients presented with dyspepsia from January 2017 to January 2019. Clinicodemographic and laboratory parameters including HOMA-IR were recorded. Anthropometric measurements were performed. NAFLD was diagnosed with ultrasonography. The FIB4, NAFLD, BARD, and Nippon scores were calculated. Results Totally, 1008 patients were enrolled. The mean age was 52.3 ± 15 years in the NAFLD group (25.8%) and 36.7 ± 15.7 years in the non-NAFLD group (74.2%). The frequency of NAFLD was 25.8%. Age, body mass index (BMI), diabetes mellitus (DM), platelet count, HbA1c, HDL, ALT, and AST/ALT ratio were independent risk factors for NAFLD. The most sensitive and specific tests in diagnosing NAFLD were HOMA-IR and Nippon score, respectively. Conclusions Age, BMI, DM, HbA1c, platelet count, HDL, ALT, and AST/ALT ratio were independent predictors of NAFLD. The most specific and sensitive predictors of the presence of NAFLD were Nippon score and HOMA-IR value, respectively. The place of fibrosis scores in the diagnosis of NAFLD patients requires further scrutinization.