Abstract
Background/Aim. To investigate the association between serum sialic acid (SA) levels and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in a nonobese Chinese population. Methods. A cross-sectional study was performed among the 5916 adults who took their annual health examinations at International Health Care Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, from December 2013 to November 2014. Results. A total of 693 (11.71%) subjects fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of NAFLD, and NAFLD patients had significantly higher serum SA levels than controls (P < 0.001). The prevalence of NAFLD was positively associated with serum SA levels (P for trend <0.001). Serum sialic acid levels are significantly associated with features of metabolic syndrome (Ps < 0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that serum SA level was significantly associated with risk for NAFLD (odds ratio: 1.018, 95%; confidence interval: 1.007–1.030; P = 0.002). Conclusions. Our results suggest for the first time that NAFLD patients had higher serum SA level than controls, and increased serum SA level is significantly associated with risk for NAFLD in a large nonobese Chinese population.
Highlights
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common chronic liver diseases worldwide [1]
The NAFLD patients had higher serum levels of alanine aminotransferase, γ-glutamyltransferase, triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, and serum uric acid, while having lower serum HDL cholesterol levels than NAFLD-free participants. These results suggest that, despite all participants being nonobese in this study, participants with NAFLD are associated with more unfavorable metabolic profiles than those without NAFLD
We found that serum sialic acid (SA) levels are significantly associated with NAFLD in a large nonobese Chinese population
Summary
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common chronic liver diseases worldwide [1]. Simple steatosis is a benign condition with slow progression over years, while nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) may progress into end stage liver disease [3, 4]. The development of NAFLD is closely associated with obesity and related metabolic disorders [6, 7]. A recent cross-sectional study by our group revealed that the prevalence of NAFLD was 7.27% in nonobese Chinese population. The following prospective study showed that 8.88% subjects developed NAFLD in a 5-year duration [8]. Another study by Kim et al reported that the prevalence of NAFLD was as high as 23.4% among 768 nonobese, nondiabetic individuals older than 30 years in Korea [9]. In order to better manage and prevent NAFLD, the factors that are related to presence and development of NAFLD in nonobese subjects should be taken into account
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