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Weight-for-height change increased NAFLD risk during adolescence

Larger rates of fat gain for children aged 1 to 10 years can influence their risk for body fatness in late adolescence and increase their risk for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, according to published results.

Emma L. Anderson, PhD candidate, University of Bristol, UK, and colleagues modeled trajectories of weight and height for 13,678 participants in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) by using random-effects linear-spline models. Weight-for-height changes from 0 to 3 months, 3 months to 1 year, 1 to 3 years, 3 to 7 years and 7 to 10 years were related to ultrasound scan (USS) determined liver fat and stiffness, and serum biomarkers alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) levels at mean age 17.8 years, with linear and logistic regression.

Emma L. Anderson

In addition to weight-for-height trajectories, 1,827 ALSPAC participants had USS data, and 3,106 had serum biomarker data. Researchers sought to determine whether rates of change in infant and childhood adiposity would increase the risk for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Participants who displayed greater gains in weight-for-height change between 1 and 10 years had an increased risk for NAFLD in adolescence. Birth weight was negatively associated with AST and ALT, but positively associated with liver stiffness. Weight-for-height change from birth to 1 year, however, was not associated with liver outcomes, while those changes from ages 1 to 10 years were positively associated with USS and blood-based liver outcomes.

Associations between BMI and USS liver fat and stiffness measurements increased with age (P=.47 at 3 months of age vs. P<.01 at 10 years; P=.01 at 3 months vs. P<.01 at 10 years; respectively).

“Greater rates of fat gain after age 1 year increase the risk of fatness in late adolescence, which subsequently increases risk for NAFLD," Anderson told Healio.com. “Our study, therefore, supports initiatives that are aimed at promoting healthy growth and adiposity gain through childhood to prevent NAFLD."

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.