Fatty liver disease by ultrasound: prevalence and associations with cardiometabolic risk factors in a siberian population

Purpose: we aimed to study the prevalence of sonographic pattern of fatty liver disease (FLD) and its associations with cardiometabolic risk factors depending on sex. Subject and methods. We used data from the WHO MONICA Project in Novosibirsk, Russia. Fatty liver disease was studied by echography in a random population sub-sample (n = 2025 and aged 25–64 years). The association of FLD with potential determinants was estimated in logistic regression. Results. The prevalence of fatty liver disease was 20 % in men and 19 % in women. In men, its multivariable-adjusted predictors included age, body mass index (BMI), level of triglycerides and frequency of alcohol drinking or high occasional dose (≥ 120 g of ethanol). In women, in age-adjusted model we have revealed the association between FLD and BMI, level of total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides, and diabetes mellitus. In multivariable-adjusted model only the association between FLD and BMI remained significant. Conclusion. The prevalence of sonographic pattern of FLD is similar among Siberian men and women (20 and 19 %, correspondently). These data are consistent with data from European, North American and Asian populations. In men, 6.2 % of FLD was attributable to alcohol, 6.2 % – non-alcoholic FLD and 7.8 % to other conditions. In women, two-thirds of cases were NAFLD and one-third was accounted for other causes. In category of other causes – 72 % (women) and 93 % (men) of participants were carriers of markers of virus hepatitis. In men, the determinants of FLD were frequent alcohol intake, triglycerides level, and BMI. In women, BMI was the most significant independent predictor of FLD