Prevalence and metabolic risk factors of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in a middle-aged and elderly population in Guangzhou

Abstract

To investigate the prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and understand the relationship between NAFLD and metabolic risk factors in middle-aged and elderly adults. This cross-sectional study recruited 2 935 subjects in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. Face-to-face interviews and laboratory analyses were conducted to collect general information and other covariates. Analysis of covariance and logistic regression analysis were performed to investigate the relationship between metabolic factors and the prevalence of NAFLD. NAFLD was diagnosed based on standard criteria recommend by the Fatty Liver Disease and Alcoholic Liver Disease Branch of Chinese Hepatology Society, and the degree of steatosis was assessed (mild, moderate or severe). Compared with normal subjects, those with NAFLD had higher levels of WC, BMI, FPG, TG, SBP, DBP and greater prevalence of metabolic syndrome, but lower levels of physical activity and HDL-C. After adjusted for covariates, the OR for each standard deviation change was 2.70 (95% CI: 2.45-2.98) for WC, 1.47 (95% CI: 1.35-1.59) for SBP, 1.48 (95% CI: 1.37-1.60) for DBP, 1.88 (95% CI: 1.66-2.12) for TG, 1.25 (95% CI: 1.15-1.36) for FPG and 0.51 (95% CI: 0.47-0.56) for HDL-C (all P<0.001). Higher levels of WC, BMI, TG, SBP, DBP and FPG were significantly related with the increase in degree of NAFLD (P-trend<0.001). There is a relatively high prevalence of NAFLD in middle-aged and elderly adults in China. NAFLD is closely related with the different forms of metabolic syndrome, and WC is the leading risk factor for NAFLD.