Prevalence of suspected non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in pediatric patients.

BACKGROUND

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects 9-18% of the general pediatric population, and 41-53% of obese children, with a higher risk in the Hispanic population.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the prevalence of suspected NAFLD in pediatric patients.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

A retrospective study of pediatric medical records, including anthropometric and biochemical data. Suspicion of NAFLD was assessed using body mass index (BMI) for age, the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, and the hepatic steatosis index (HSI).

RESULTS

240 medical records were analyzed. The prevalence of suspected NAFLD based on BMI was 68.3%, using TyG was 62.5%, and using HSI, evaluated in 32 patients with complete laboratory data, was 31%. The age was of 14 years-old (11-16), with 59.6% female patients, weight 61 ± 17.4 kg, height 156.0 ± 11.7 cm, BMI 24.7 ± 5.4 kg/m², and BMI-for-age 92.6% (69.5-97.1%). 2.5% patients were underweighted, 34.2% had normal weight, 22.9% were overweight, 25.4% had obesity, and 15% had severe obesity.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 22.9% and 40.4%, respectively. The suspicion of NAFLD was higher than other cohorts.