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High neck circumference prevalent in Chinese adults with fatty liver disease

A greater neck circumference was found in Chinese adults with fatty liver disease than adults without fatty liver disease, indicating it is an independent predictor of fatty liver disease, according to study data.

“Previous studies have indicated that neck circumference is a valuable predictor for obesity and metabolic syndrome, but little evidence is available for fatty liver disease,” the researchers wrote. “We examined the association of neck circumference with fatty liver disease and evaluated its predictive value in Chinese adults.”

Researchers analyzed data from 4,053 Chinese adults (2,436 men, 1,617 women) enrolled at the Health Examination Center in Guangzhou, China between May 2009 and April 2010. All patients underwent abdominal ultrasonography and anthropometric and blood biochemical measuring. Of all the patients, 16.3% of women had fatty liver disease compared with 32.4% of men (263 vs. 790).

Analyses showed that the mean neck circumference was greater in patients with fatty liver disease compared with patients without fatty liver disease in both men and women, after adjusting for age (P < .001). Further analysis showed age-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of fatty liver disease for quartile 4 of neck circumference were 7.70 (4.95-11.99) among the women and 12.42 (9.22-16.74) for men. A correlation between neck circumference and anthropometric measures, such as BMI, waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), was observed by the researchers (P < .05 for all). In addition, a high neck circumference value was associated with a greater prevalence of fatty liver disease in patients with both normal and high BMI, WC and WHR values, according to the research.

“In this large cross-sectional study of urban residents in southern China, we investigated the association between [neck circumference] and [fatty liver disease] and its predictive value for [fatty liver disease],” the researchers wrote. “[Neck circumference] was significantly associated with the prevalence of [fatty liver disease], as diagnosed by abdominal ultrasound, and had an independent predictive value after adjusting for age, BMI, WC and WHR.”

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.