Clinico-Biochemical Comparison of Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Healthy Population

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) describes a common clinico-pathological condition characterized by significant lipid deposition in the hepatocytes in patients without history of excessive alcohol ingestion. The objective of this study was to assess the clinical and paraclinical features and risk factors of NAFLD patients in comparison with healthy population. In this case-control study, 102 patients with NAFLD were compared with 102 controls in East Azerbaijan province. The diagnosis of NAFLD was provided by liver ultrasonography to confirm the presence of steatohepatitis. Liver function tests, lipid profile, blood sugar, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were measured in all participants. The statistical analysis was performed using chi-square, t tests and logistic regression model and P<0.05 was considered significant. This study consists of 102 patients (56 men and 46 women) and 102 controls (43 men and 59 women). The mean ± SD of age of the patients was 42.53 10.70 years and 45.46 13.51 years for controls. The mean SD of BMI was 30.51 4.69 in patient group and 26.48 4.40 in control group (P<0.0005). The 9.8 percent of patients were underweight, 41.17 percent were in normal range and 49.01 percent were obese. The central obesity was seen in 59.8 percent of patients and 30.7 percent of controls (P<0.05). The incidence of some characteristics in patients and controls were as follow respectively: hypertriglyceridemia (63.7% vs. 20.2%), hypercholesterolemia (20.2% vs. 9.8%), hypertension (47.6% vs. 10.8%), diabetes (21.4% vs 2.3%), and elevated ALT (46.6% vs 0.9%). Elevated AST level was more common in the NAFLD group (37.9%) compared to control group (2.9%) (P<0.0005). Hypertension, grade of BMI and hypertriglyceridemia were recognized as independent predictors. NAFLD has similar characteristics in our population compared to other parts of the world. Hypertension high, grades of BMI and hypertriglyceridemia are suggested as useful indicators for screening of NAFLD in our population.