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Increasing BMI influences risk for NAFLD
Data published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism showed that increasing BMI is linearly associated with future nonalcoholic fatty liver disease diagnosis, suggesting that better weight gain and management strategies need to be considered among this population.
“Our study … provides a useful estimate of NAFLD recording in real clinical practice,” the researchers wrote.
Researchers analyzed data of patients with recorded BMI measurements in the Humedica and The Health Improvement Network (THIN) electronic databases between 2003 and 2013. All patients included in the analysis had a BMI measurement between 15 and 60 kg/m2, had their smoking status recorded and had 1 year of active status before baseline BMI measured.
Overall, the risk for recorded NAFLD/nonalcoholic steatohepatitis increased linearly with BMI. A ninefold higher risk for NAFLD/NASH was observed among patients in THIN (HR = 8.93; 95% CI, 7.11-11.23) at a BMI of 30 to 32.5 kg/m2, compared with a fivefold higher risk in patients in Humedica (HR = 4.78; 95% CI, 4.17-5.47).
The risk increased to 14-fold in THIN (HR = 14.32; 95% CI, 11.04-18.57) and 10-fold in Humedica (HR = 9.8; 95% CI, 8.49-11.32) in the 37.5 to 40 kg/m2 BMI category.
In a sex-stratified analysis, the risk for NAFLD/NASH was 50% higher in men, with a BMI-adjusted hazard ratio for men compared to women in THIN at 1.58 (95% CI, 1.47-1.7) and 1.4 in Humedica (95% CI, 1.34-1.46). Further analysis showed risk for NAFLD/NASH was even higher among patients with diabetes, according to the research.
The researchers concluded: “A strong and striking near linear relationship exists between BMI and future risk of ‘recorded’ NAFLD/NASH, with higher absolute risks in men and patients with diabetes. … The BMI-NAFLD relationship has strong external validity. The magnitude and consistency of the associations, namely a five- [to] 10-fold increased risk in the obese and 10- [to] 14-fold risk in the morbidly obese highlights the importance of both prevention of weight gain and weight reduction strategies in the prevention and management of NAFLD.” – by Melinda Stevens
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.