Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in asymptomatic Brazilian adolescents

Abstract

AIM: To evaluate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) among asymptomatic Brazilian adolescents. METHODS: Transversal observational study included asymptomatic adolescents with central obesity from private and public schools in Salvador-Bahia, northeastern Brazil. The children answered a questionnaire that included age, gender, race, and medical history, and were submitted to a complete physical exam and abdominal ultrasound. Biochemical exams included: ALT, AST, GGT, C reactive protein (CRP), fasting glucose, insulin, cholesterol and triglycerides. Criteria for NAFLD included: the presence of steatosis in ultrasound and/or high level of ALT, negative or occasional historic of intake of alcohol (≤ 140 g/wk), negative investigation for hepatitis A, B, C, auto-immune hepatitis, Wilson disease and hemochromatosis. RESULTS: From October, 2005 to October, 2006, the study included 1801 subjects between 11 and 18 years of age and a mean age of 13.7 ± 2.0 years. One hundred ninety-nine had central obesity. The prevalence of NAFLD was 2.3%, most of whom were male and white. Insulin resistance (IR) was observed in 22.9% of them and had positive correlations with ALT and GGT (P < 0.05). Elevated CRP was observed in 6.9% of the cases; however, it was not associated with WC, IR or liver enzymes. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of NAFLD in Brazilian adolescents was low. The ethnicity may have influence this frequency in the population studied, which had a large proportion of African descendents.