title: MRI-diagnosed nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is correlated to insulin resistance in adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the presence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in eutrophic and obese adolescents with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and its relationship to insulin resistance and other potential biomarkers.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 50 adolescents (aged 11-17 years), including 24 obese and 26 eutrophic adolescents, were evaluated using MRI exams for NAFLD diagnosis. Blood analysis was performed to measure glucose, insulin, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, fibrinogen, aminotransferases, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-gt, and C-reactive protein. The Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) index was also calculated. Laboratory test results and anthropometric assessment were statistically analyzed to determine potential correlation with NAFLD prevalence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of NAFLD among the obese was significantly higher (83.3%; CI 95: 64.5-94.5%) than that of the eutrophic group (19.2%; CI 95: 7.4-37.6%). In multivariate analysis, only HOMA-IR was an independent risk factor for diagnosis NAFLD using MRI. Compared to eutrophic adolescents, the obese adolescents had significantly higher levels for all parameters measured except for total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, which were significantly lower.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of NAFLD was 19.2% among eutrophic patients and 83.3% among obese patients. Only HOMA-IR was determined to be an independent risk factor for NAFLD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Hospital Sao Lucas Hospital, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, 90470320 Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: José Hermes Ribas
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: do Nascimento
authors.forename: Matias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Epifanio
authors.forename: Ricardo Bernardi
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Soder
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baldisserotto
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: Adolescent; blood analysis; magnetic resonance imaging; nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; obese