title: Childhood adiposity trajectories and risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its metabolic risk factors are recognized during childhood and adolescence. Identification of adolescents at risk of NAFLD from childhood anthropometry may expose opportunities to influence the hepatic and metabolic destinies of individuals. We sought associations between NAFLD diagnosed during adolescence and earlier life trajectories of anthropometry, in a population-based cohort of predominantly Caucasian adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Assessment for NAFLD, using questionnaires and liver ultrasound, was performed on 1170 adolescents, aged 17 years, from the population-based Raine cohort. We sought associations between NAFLD in adolescents and serial anthropometric measurements recorded from birth, childhood, and adolescence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  NAFLD was diagnosed in 15.2% of adolescents. Birth anthropometry, including birth weight, skinfold thickness, and ponderal index, was not associated with NAFLD. However, adiposity differences between 17-year-old adolescents with NAFLD and those without NAFLD were apparent from age 3 years. Greater adiposity trajectories for weight, body mass index, skinfold thickness, mid-arm circumference, and chest circumference from age 3 years onwards, particularly in males, were associated with the diagnosis of NAFLD and severity of hepatic steatosis at age 17 years (P < 0.05). The strength of the associations increased with age after 3 years for each adiposity measure (all P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Trajectories of childhood adiposity are associated with NAFLD. Adiposity attained by 3 years of age and older, but not at birth, was associated with the diagnosis and severity of hepatic steatosis in late adolescence. Exploration of clinically relevant risk factors and preventative measures for NAFLD should begin during childhood.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine and Pharmacology, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia; Department of Gastroenterology, Fremantle Hospital, Perth, Australia; Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
authors.forename: Oyekoya T
authors.initials: OT
authors.lastname: Ayonrinde
authors.forename: John K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Olynyk
authors.forename: Julie A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Marsh
authors.forename: Lawrence J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Beilin
authors.forename: Trevor A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Wendy H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Oddy
authors.forename: Leon A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Adams
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity / Q000502:physiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000886:Anthropometry; D001724:Birth Weight; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control; D012306:Risk; D012307:Risk Factors; D012885:Skinfold Thickness; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People
keywords: anthropometry; body mass index; cohort study; nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; skinfold thickness