title: Prevalence of fatty liver in children and adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Fatty liver disease is diagnosed increasingly in children, but the prevalence remains unknown. We sought to determine the prevalence of pediatric fatty liver as diagnosed by histology in a population-based sample.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a retrospective review of 742 children between the ages of 2 and 19 years who had an autopsy performed by a county medical examiner from 1993 to 2003. Fatty liver was defined as > or = 5% of hepatocytes containing macrovesicular fat.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fatty liver was present in 13% of subjects. For children and adolescents age 2 to 19 years, the prevalence of fatty liver adjusted for age, gender, race, and ethnicity is estimated to be 9.6%. Fatty liver prevalence increases with age, ranging from 0.7% for ages 2 to 4 up to 17.3% for ages 15 to 19 years. Fatty liver prevalence differs significantly by race and ethnicity (Asian: 10.2%; black: 1.5%; Hispanic: 11.8%; white: 8.6%). The highest rate of fatty liver was seen in obese children (38%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Fatty liver is the most common liver abnormality in children age 2 to 19 years. The presence of macrovesicular hepatic steatosis in approximately 1 of every 10 children has important ramifications for the long-term health of children and young adults. The influence of the risk factors identified should be taken into consideration in the development of protocols designed to screen at-risk children and adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, 200 West Arbor Dr, San Diego, CA 92103-8450, USA. jschwimmer@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: Jeffrey B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Schwimmer
authors.forename: Reena
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Deutsch
authors.forename: Tanaz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kahen
authors.forename: Joel E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Lavine
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stanley
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Behling
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology