Non alcoholic fatty liver disease in southern Iran: a population based study.
BACKGROUND
Population based studies on prevalence and risk factors of NAFLD in Iranian population are few. The prevalence of NAFLD and non alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in Iranians varies from 2.9% to 7.1% in general population and 55.8% in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence and determinants of non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in a sample of adult Iranian general population.


METHODS
This was a cross-sectional study being performed in Shiraz, southern Iran during a 10-month period from November 2010 to September 2011 through cluster random sampling of Iranian general population in Shiraz region. All individuals undergone anthropometric, blood pressure measurements, thorough medical history and physical examinations. Laboratory measurements included fasting blood glucose (FBS), lipid profile, complete blood count (CBC) and liver function tests. NAFLD was diagnosed by transabdominal ultrasonography.


RESULTS
819 subjects were included in this study among which were 340 males (41.5%) and 479 females (58.5%) with the mean age of 43.1 ± 14.1 years. NAFLD was diagnosed in 176 (21.5%) subjects. Patients with NAFLD were significantly older (P < 0.001), had higher proportion of male gender (P = 0.004) and had higher BMI (P < 0.001). They also had higher prevalence of hypertension (P < 0.001), high FBS (P < 0.001), high cholesterol (P = 0.026), high triglyceride (P < 0.001) and high waist circumference (P < 0.001). Taking all these together, patients with NAFLD had significantly higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome when compared to healthy subjects (P < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of NAFLD in this group of Iranian adult general population is 21.5%. NAFLD in Iranian population is associated with male gender, old age, obesity, and features of metabolic syndrome.
Health Policy Research Centre, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, IR Iran.
Kamran Bagheri
KB
Lankarani
Fariborz
F
Ghaffarpasand
Mojtaba
M
Mahmoodi
Mehrzad
M
Lotfi
Nima
N
Zamiri
Sayed Taghi
ST
Heydari
Mohammad Kazem
MK
Fallahzadeh
Najmeh
N
Maharlouei
Meisam
M
Babaeinejad
Soheila
S
Mehravar
Bita
B
Geramizadeh
Iran; Metabolic Syndrome; Non alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Prevalence; Risk Factors