Prevalence and risk factors for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease among adults in an urban Sri Lankan population.
OBJECTIVE
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an emerging problem in the Asia-Pacific region. However, its prevalence and risk factors in Asian (especially South Asian) communities is poorly studied. In this study, the aim was to determine the community prevalence and risk factors for NAFLD among adults in an urban Sri Lankan population.


METHODS
The study population consisted of 35-64-year-old adults, selected by stratified random sampling. NAFLD was diagnosed on established ultrasound criteria for fatty liver, safe alcohol consumption (< 14 units/week for men, < 7 units/week for females) and absence of hepatitis B and C markers. Blood pressure (BP) and anthropometric measurements were made, and fasting glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, serum lipids, fasting serum insulin and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were determined.


RESULTS
Of the 2985 study participants, 974 (32.6%) had NAFLD (605 [62.1%] women, mean age 52.8 years [standard deviation, 7.3]). On multivariate analysis, obesity, acanthosis nigricans, insulin resistance, elevated diastolic BP, fasting plasma glucose, plasma triglycerides, and ALT twice the upper limit of the reference range or more were independently associated with NAFLD.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of NAFLD among adults in this urban Sri Lankan community is high and is strongly associated with constituent features of the metabolic syndrome.
Dassanayake
Anuradha S
AS
Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Ragama, Sri Lanka.
Kasturiratne
Anuradhani
A
Rajindrajith
Shaman
S
Kalubowila
Udaya
U
Chakrawarthi
Sureka
S
De Silva
Arjuna P
AP
Makaya
Miyuki
M
Mizoue
Tetsuya
T
Kato
Norihiro
N
Wickremasinghe
A Rajitha
AR
de Silva
H Janaka
HJ
D000052:Acanthosis Nigricans / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006943:Hyperglycemia / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013188:Sri Lanka / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D015415:Biomarkers