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. 2021 Sep;28(9):4921-4925.
doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.05.063. Epub 2021 Jun 1.

Prevalence and predictors of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in tertiary care hospital of Taif, Saudi Arabia: A retrospective study

Abdulhakeem S Alamri  1   2 , Majid Alhomrani  1   2 , Walaa F Alsanie  1   2 , Ahmad Joman Alghamdi  3 , Zaher M Alghamdi  1 , Abdualmohsen A Al-Subaie  1 , Yasser A Alharthi  1 , Hesham H Alqurashi  4 , Syed Mohammed Basheeruddin Asdaq  5
Affiliations

Prevalence and predictors of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in tertiary care hospital of Taif, Saudi Arabia: A retrospective study

Abdulhakeem S Alamri et al. Saudi J Biol Sci. 2021 Sep.

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in Saudi Arabia is predicted to exceed 30% by 2030. NAFLD leads to liver fibrosis, thus increasing morbidity and health care burden. Obesity and diabetes have been strongly associated with NAFLD in different cities in Saudi Arabia.

Objectives: Therefore, we aim to determine the prevalence rate of NAFLD and specific risk factors for NAFLD among patients of tertiary care hospital of Taif city.

Material and methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of patients for two years, between Feb 2017 and Feb 2019, (n = 100) referred to the hepatology clinic at King Abdulaziz Specialist Hospital in Taif. The diagnosis of NAFLD was based on the radiology report for patients who were aged >20 years old. Other parameters including fasting blood glucose (FBG), platelets count, alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and total bilirubin were statistically analyzed.

Results: We found that 40% (P < 0.05) of all patients had NAFLD. The results revealed that a significantly high number of patients with NAFLD have high FBG levels (75%, P < 0.0001) and total bilirubin (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, platelet count was significantly reduced in patients with NAFLD (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: NAFLD can be a serious health problem in the Taif region. In addition, high FBG is a significant specific risk factor for NAFLD. Health care providers should pay more attention to limiting the prevalence of NAFLD and its risk factors.

Keywords: Age; Fasting blood glucose; Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; Obesity; Risk factors; Type 2 diabetes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Proportions of patients with and without NAFLD.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Proportion of NAFLD patients with age > 30 and < 30 years.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
A significant proportion of NAFLD patients reported with a high FBG level (red label) and another proportion reported with a normal FBG (blue label). (P < 0.001).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Differences in liver markers between patients with NAFLD (blue label) and those without NAFLD (red label): (A) total bilirubin, (B) AST, and (C) ALT. * P < 0.01.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Statistical difference in platelet counts between the NAFLD (blue) and non-NAFLD groups (red) (P < 0.0397).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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