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. 2025 Jan 8;12(1):71.
doi: 10.3390/children12010071.

Pediatric Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD): Trends, Mortality, and Socioeconomic Disparities in the U.S., 1998-2020

Paul Wasuwanich  1   2 , Joshua M So  2 , Mustafa Sadek  1 , Chaowapong Jarasvaraparn  3 , Songyos Rajborirug  4 , Ruben E Quiros-Tejeira  5 , Wikrom Karnsakul  4
Affiliations

Pediatric Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD): Trends, Mortality, and Socioeconomic Disparities in the U.S., 1998-2020

Paul Wasuwanich et al. Children (Basel). .

Abstract

Background/objectives: We aim to describe the changing inpatient epidemiology of NAFLD in the U.S. and identify major risk factors associated with mortality in the disease among hospitalized pediatric patients.

Methods: Hospitalization data from the 1998-2020 National Inpatient Sample were utilized. ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes were used to identify pediatric patients (age less than 18 years old) with NAFLD, and risk factors for mortality were analyzed by logistic regression.

Results: We identified 68,869 pediatric hospitalizations involving NAFLD. Among those, 970 (1.4%) died during hospitalization. Hospitalization rates have been rapidly increasing from 1998 to 2020 (incidence rate ratio (IRR): 1.07; 95% CI: 1.06-1.07; p < 0.001). There was a significant difference in mortality based on the type of hospital (rural, non-teaching urban, or teaching urban) in pediatric patients with NAFLD (p < 0.05). Coagulopathy was significantly associated with increased odds of mortality, while age ≥ 12 years, diabetes and obesity were associated with decreased odds of mortality (p < 0.05). Sex, race/ethnicity, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, and IV drug use were not significantly associated with mortality.

Conclusions: Our study has shown ever increasing hospitalization rates for NAFLD in pediatric populations and well as significant risk factors associated with mortality. Further studies should be performed as more data on this patient population are collected.

Keywords: coagulopathy; diabetes; fatty liver disease; mortality; obesity; risk factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Hospitalization rates and mortality rates over time for pediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). National Inpatient Sample, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), 1998–2020.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Hospitalization rates over time for pediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) by sex. Each sex was compared to the total US population at that given year. National Inpatient Sample, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), 1998–2020.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Hospitalization rates over time for pediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) by race/ethnicity. Each race/ethnicity was compared to the total US population in that given year. National Inpatient Sample, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), 1998–2020.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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