Abstract
Background
The prevalence of childhood obesity and its related comorbidities in Malaysia are alarming. Malaysia ranked second in childhood obesity among South-east Asian countries with a prevalence of 12.7%. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) among obese children and to ascertain the predictors associated with NAFLD.
Methods
NAFLD was diagnosed via ultrasonographic evidence of fatty liver in obese and overweight children who presented to the Paediatric Obesity Clinic of University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Malaysia. Demographic, anthropometric, clinical and biochemical parameters were analysed and compared between the NAFLD and non-NAFLD groups. Statistical analyses were carried out.
Results
Twenty-one out of 33 obese and overweight children (63.6%) were found to have NAFLD. We found that 62% of our study population in the NAFLD group had metabolic syndrome based on the definition by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). Mean body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), triglyceride (TG) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were found to be significantly greater in the NAFLD group compared to the non-NAFLD group (35.2 [6.1] vs. 29.3 [4.7] kg/m2 [p-value 0.007]; 104.1 [11.4] vs. 94.1 [12] cm [p-value 0.034]; 1.5 [0.9] vs. 0.9 [0.3] mmol/L [p-value 0.002]; 60.7 [53.8] vs. 27.3 [13] U/L [p-value 0.007]). Multivariate regression analysis revealed TG as the independent predictor for NAFLD, with an odds ratio of 41.7 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.001, 0.819) (p-value 0.04).
Conclusions
Prevalence of NAFLD among children who are obese and overweight is alarming with 62% having metabolic syndrome. TG was found to be a strong predictor for NAFLD.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Mr. Abid Nordin and his team from Nordin Kamil Consulting for their expert advice and professionalism.
Author contributions: Rashdan Zaki Mohamed, Muhammad Yazid Jalaludin and Azriyanti Anuar Zaini designed the study. Rashdan Zaki Mohamed conducted the retrospective analysis and produced the initial draft of the manuscript. Muhammad Yazid Jalaludin and Azriyanti Anuar Zaini gave the final approval to the study design, results and manuscript. Azriyanti Anuar Zaini is the corresponding author for the manuscript.
Research funding: The study was made possible with research funding by the University of Malaya.
Employment or leadership: None declared.
Honorarium: None declared.
Competing Interest: None declared.
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