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. 2021 Aug;31(8):3675-3685.
doi: 10.1007/s11695-021-05470-2. Epub 2021 May 12.

Correlation Between Anthropometric Measurements and Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Individuals With Obesity Undergoing Bariatric Surgery: Cross-Sectional Study

Silênio Souza Reis  1 , Guilherme Hoverter Callejas  2 , Rodolfo Araújo Marques  2 , Martinho A Gestic  2 , Murillo P Utrini  2 , Felipe D M Chaim  2 , Almino C Ramos  2 , Elinton A Chaim  2 , Everton Cazzo  3
Affiliations

Correlation Between Anthropometric Measurements and Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Individuals With Obesity Undergoing Bariatric Surgery: Cross-Sectional Study

Silênio Souza Reis et al. Obes Surg. 2021 Aug.

Abstract

Background: We hypothesize that non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) may be significantly associated with waist circumference (WC), neck circumference (NC), hip circumference (HC), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR).

Objectives: To analyze correlations between anthropometric parameters and the occurrence and intensity of NAFLD aspects assessed by histopathological examination in individuals undergoing bariatric surgery.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out in a tertiary university hospital. Demographic, clinical, anthropometric, laboratory, and histopathological variables were analyzed; uni- and multivariate analyses were performed. Histopathological variables analyzed were findings of liver biopsies collected during surgical procedures.

Results: Of 119 individuals, 105 (88.2%) were female. The mean age was 38.8 ± 9.3 years and the mean BMI was 37.6 ± 3.1 kg/m2. The prevalence of NAFLD histopathological aspects was: steatosis (76.5%), steatohepatitis (49.6%), and fibrosis (51.3%). WC was significantly higher in individuals with steatosis (103.5 ± 9.9 vs. 99.4 ± 8.4; p = 0.03). Individuals with steatohepatitis presented significantly higher BMI (38.2 ± 3.2 vs. 36.7 ± 2.8; p = 0.01), WC (105.3 ± 10.4 vs. 99.6 ± 8.8; p = 0.002), and WHR (1 ± 0.1 vs. 0.9 ± 0.1; p = 0.02). Age (40.6 ± 9.7 vs. 37 ± 8.5; p = 0.03) and hemoglobin A1c (6.5 ± 0.5 vs. 5.6 ± 0.5; p = 0.004) were significantly higher among individuals with fibrosis. A positive correlation was observed between the steatosis intensity and WHR (R = 0.2; p = 0.04). BMI (R = 0.2; p = 0.02) and glucose (R = 0.2; p = 0.009) were independently correlated with the steatohepatitis intensity. Age (R = 0.3; p = 0.04) was independently correlated with the fibrosis intensity.

Conclusion: There were significant associations between anthropometric parameters and NAFLD aspects. WC and WHR were associated with steatosis; BMI, WC, and WHR were associated with steatohepatitis. WHR independently correlated with steatosis intensity.

Keywords: Anthropometry; Bariatric surgery; Fatty liver; Non-alcoholic fatty hepatopathy; Obesity.

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