Prevalence, demographic characteristics and clinical profile of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease among adult patients attending tertiary hospitals in Dodoma, Tanzania. a cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Globally, metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) has become one of the leading causes of liver disease, attributed to the rapid increase in obesity. There is paucity of data on the burden of MAFLD in Tanzania. The study assessed MAFLD prevalence and associated factors among adult patients in Dodoma, METHODS: From November 2023 to March 2024 adult patients was recruited at tertiary hospitals. MAFLD was diagnosed based on evidence of steatosis on imaging plus any one of five cardio metabolic risk factors, such as overweight or obesity (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2), diabetes mellitus type 2, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and metabolic dysregulation. Demographic and clinical characteristics were collected and analyzed to identify risk factors of MAFLD. The chi-squared test was used to determine if there is a proportional between categorical data. Logistic regression analysis was used to check for associated factors; significance was defined as a p-value < 0.05. The Institutional Research Ethics Committee (IRREC) of University of Dodoma (UDOM) approved the study, and informed consent was obtained. RESULTS: A total of 351 patients were recruited, of whom 186(53%) were females, and the median age was 62 (IQR 52–70) years. The prevalence of MAFLD was 21.9%. Among patients with MAFLD 12(15.6%) were found to have advanced fibrosis. Compared to non MAFLD subjects, MAFLD patients had elevated liver enzymes with a P value (< 0.001),T2DM (OR: 3.9; 95% CI (2.1–7.2, p < 0.001), dyslipidemia (OR: 2.3; 95% CI 1.2–4.7, p = 0.013), obesity (OR: 2.0; 95% CI (1.1–3.7, p = 0.016),alcohol consumption(OR:2.2;95% CI(1.2–4.1, P = 0.007),smoking( OR 2.6 ;95% CI (1.4–4.8, p < 0.001), and sedentary lifestyle (OR: 2.3; 95% CI (1.2–4.2, p = 0.005) were associated with MAFLD. CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of MAFLD indicates its emergence as a significant health concern in daily clinical practice in our setting, potentially leading to increase morbidity and mortality.