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. 2023 May 29;12(11):3741.
doi: 10.3390/jcm12113741.

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Liver Fibrosis in Persons with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Ghana: A Study of Prevalence, Severity, and Contributing Factors Using Transient Elastography

Yaw Amo Wiafe  1 , Mary Yeboah Afihene  2 , Enoch Odame Anto  1 , Richmond Ashitey Nmai  1 , Lois Amoah-Kumi  1 , Joseph Frimpong  1 , Francis D Dickson  3 , Samuel O Antwi  4 , Lewis R Roberts  5
Affiliations

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Liver Fibrosis in Persons with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Ghana: A Study of Prevalence, Severity, and Contributing Factors Using Transient Elastography

Yaw Amo Wiafe et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and pancreatic islet cell dysfunction. T2DM is associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) because of impaired glucose metabolism in both conditions. However, it is widely assumed that people with T2DM in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have a lower prevalence of NAFLD than in other parts of the world. With our recent access to transient elastography, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of, severity of, and contributing factors to NAFLD in persons with T2DM in Ghana. We performed a cross-sectional study recruiting 218 individuals with T2DM at the Kwadaso Seventh-Day Adventist and Mount Sinai Hospitals in the Ashanti region of Ghana using a simple randomized sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain socio-demographic information, clinical history, exercise and other lifestyle factors, and anthropometric measurements. Transient elastography was performed using a FibroScan® machine to obtain the Controlled Attenuation Parameter (CAP) score and liver fibrosis score. The prevalence of NAFLD among Ghanaian T2DM participants was 51.4% (112/218), of whom 11.6% had significant liver fibrosis. An evaluation of the NAFLD group (n = 112) versus the non-NAFLD group (n = 106) revealed a higher BMI (28.7 vs. 25.2 kg/m2, p = 0.001), waist circumference (106.0 vs. 98.0 cm, p = 0.001), hip circumference (107.0 vs. 100.5 cm, p = 0.003), and waist-to-height ratio (0.66 vs. 0.62, p = 0.001) in T2DM patients with NAFLD compared to those without NAFLD. Being obese was an independent predictor of NAFLD in persons with T2DM than known history of hypertension and dyslipidaemia.

Keywords: controlled attenuation parameter score; liver fibrosis; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; prevalence; type 2 diabetes mellitus; weight management.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Body mass index proportions of NAFLD and Non-NAFLD groups.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Linear logistic regression of obesity and NAFLD.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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