Background: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease which has been increasing both in incidence and global impact. In the Philippines, cases of diabetes mellitus increase at an alarming rate. Previous study in Nigeria among Type 2 Diabetic patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has observed an increased prevalence of 69%. However, there is no definite association between severity of NAFLD and glycemic control (HbA1c). Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of NAFLD and its association with glycemic control of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) patients at Batangas Medical Center (BatMC) – Out Patient Department (OPD). Methods: A single center, cross sectional study was performed on 80 T2DM patients, who underwent OPD consultation between November 2020 to October 2021. Clinicodemographic profile, duration of T2DM, diagnostic tests including HbA1c and ultrasound of the liver were taken. Chi-Square test of homogeneity and Fisher’s Exact test/Fisher-Freeman-Halton test were utilized for comparison of categorical variables from a single population to determine whether there is a significant association between the severity of NAFLD and patients characteristics and glycemic control. Results: 80 T2DM patients were included in the analysis, there was an equal number of male (50%) and female (50%). Majority of the patients were in the age of 50 – 59 years old (33%), with a BMI of 25 and above (81%), had been diagnosed with T2DM for > 5 years (72%) and maintained with oral hypoglycemic agents (68%). The prevalence of NAFLD by ultrasonography among T2DM patients was 81%. 80% of these patients had mild NAFLD and 20% had moderate NAFLD; but none had severe NAFLD. The average HbA1c level of 8.9% had a mild NAFLD compared to patients with moderate NAFLD with an average HbA1c level of 10.1%. With a p=0.053, NAFLD severity and glycemic control do not show any statistically significant association. Subgroup analysis was not performed in the study due to limited sample size. In addition, results of association are not sufficient evidence for any conclusion; hence, there appear to be no group of interest. Conclusion The result of this study confirmed that the prevalence of NAFLD in T2DM was high at 81% but there is no sufficient evidence to conclude a statistically significant association between the level of glycemic control and the severity of NAFLD.
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ; Glycemic Control ; Dyslipidemias ; Obesity ; Metabolic Syndrome