BACKGROUND/AIMS: A close relationship has been established between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and an elevated risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), but little is known about the association between alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD) and CHD risk. The aim of this study was to determine whether AFLD is associated with elevated CHD risk. METHODS: We retrospectively enrolled 10,710 subjects out of 11,469 individuals who visited the Konkuk University Health Care Center for a routine health checkup in 2010. AFLD was diagnosed made when the usual amount of alcohol consumption exceeded 210 g/week in males and 140 g/week in females for the previous 2 years and when hepatic steatosis was detected by liver ultrasonography. The 10-year risk for CHD was estimated using the Framingham Risk Score. RESULTS: Hepatic steatosis was diagnosed in 4,142 of the 10,710 individuals (38.7%); the remainder (i.e., n=6,568) became the control group. The 4,142 individuals with hepatic steatosis were divided into two groups: NAFLD (n=2,953) and AFLD (n=1,189). The risk of CHD was higher in AFLD (6.72+/-0.12) than in the control group (5.50+/-0.04, P<0.001), and comparable to that in NAFLD (7.32+/-0.07, P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with AFLD have an elevated 10-year risk of CHD that is comparable to those with NAFLD. Therefore, AFLD should be considered a significant risk for future CHD, and preventive measures should be considered earlier.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Alcohol Drinking ; Body Mass Index ; Coronary Disease/*diagnosis/etiology ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Fatty Liver, Alcoholic/complications/*diagnosis/ultrasonography ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/complications/*diagnosis/*epidemiology/ultrasonography ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Sex Factors

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Hypothyroidism is reported to contribute to the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We compared the risk of the development of NAFLD among three groups with different thyroid hormonal statuses (control, subclinical hypothyroidism, and overt hypothyroidism) in a 4-year retrospective cohort of Korean subjects. METHODS: Apparently healthy Korean subjects without NAFLD and aged 20-65 years were recruited (n=18,544) at health checkups performed in 2008. Annual health checkups were applied to the cohort for 4 consecutive years until December 2012. Based on their initial serum-free thyroxine (fT4) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels, they were classified into control, subclinical hypothyroidism (TSH >4.2 mIU/L, normal fT4), and overt hypothyroidism (TSH >4.2 mIU/L, fT4 <0.97 ng/dL) groups. NAFLD was diagnosed on the basis of ultrasonography findings. RESULTS: NAFLD developed in 2,348 of the 18,544 subjects, representing an overall incidence of 12.7%: 12.8%, 11.0%, 12.7% in the control, subclinical hypothyroidism, and overt hypothyroidism groups, respectively. The incidence of NAFLD did not differ significantly with the baseline thyroid hormonal status, even after multivariate adjustment (subclinical hypothyroidism group: hazard ratio [HR]=0.965, 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.814-1.143, P=0.67; overt hypothyroidism group: HR=1.255, 95% CI=0.830-1.899, P=0.28). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the subclinical and overt types of hypothyroidism are not related to an increased incidence of NAFLD.
Adult ; Aged ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hypothyroidism/*complications/*diagnosis ; Incidence ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Liver/ultrasonography ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/*complications/*diagnosis/epidemiology ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Thyrotropin/analysis ; Thyroxine/analysis

PURPOSE: In this study, we aimed to evaluate whether nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was associated with the presence and morphology of coronary atherosclerotic plaques shown by multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in asymptomatic subjects without a history of cardiovascular disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively enrolled 772 consecutive South Korean individuals who had undergone both dualsource 64-slice MDCT coronary angiography and hepatic ultrasonography during general routine health evaluations. The MDCT studies were assessed for the presence, morphology (calcified, mixed, and non-calcified), and severity of coronary plaques. RESULTS: Coronary atherosclerotic plaques were detected in 316 subjects (40.9%) by MDCT, and NAFLD was found in 346 subjects (44.8%) by hepatic ultrasonography. Subjects with NAFLD had higher prevalences of all types of atherosclerotic plaque and non-calcified, mixed, and calcified plaques than the subjects without NAFLD. However, the prevalence of significant stenosis did not differ between groups. After adjusting for age, smoking status, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome, NAFLD remained a significant predictor for all types of coronary atherosclerotic plaque [odds ratio (OR): 1.48; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05-2.08; p=0.025] in binary logistic analysis, as well as for calcified plaques (OR: 1.70; 95% CI: 1.07-2.70; p=0.025) in multinomial regression analysis. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that NAFLD was significantly associated with the presence and the calcified morphology of coronary atherosclerotic plaques detected by MDCT. Further prospective clinical studies are needed to clarify the exact physiopathologic role of NAFLD in coronary atherosclerosis.
Adult ; Aged ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group/statistics & numerical data ; Calcinosis/ethnology/*radiography ; Case-Control Studies ; Coronary Angiography/*methods ; Coronary Artery Disease/ethnology/pathology/*radiography ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multidetector Computed Tomography/*methods ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/epidemiology/*ultrasonography ; Odds Ratio ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic/*diagnosis/epidemiology ; Prevalence ; Regression Analysis ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Ultrasonography

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in children. The global prevalence of pediatric NAFLD from general populations is 7.6%. In obese children, the prevalence is higher in Asia. NAFLD has a strong heritable component based on ethnic difference in the prevalence and clustering within families. Genetic polymorphisms of patatin-like phospholipase domain–containing protein 3 (PNPLA3), transmembrane 6 superfamily member 2, and glucokinase regulatory protein (GCKR) are associated with the risk of NAFLD in children. Variants of PNPLA3 and GCKR are more common in Asians. Alterations of the gut microbiome might contribute to the pathogenesis of NAFLD. High fructose intake increases the risk of NAFLD. Liver fibrosis is a poor prognostic factor for disease progression to cirrhosis. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy and magnetic resonance proton density fat fraction are more accurate for steatosis quantification than ultrasound. Noninvasive imaging methods to assess liver fibrosis, such as transient elastography, shear-wave elastography, and magnetic resonance elastography are useful in predicting advanced fibrosis, but they need further validation. Longitudinal follow-up studies into adulthood are needed to better understand the natural history of pediatric NAFLD.
Asia ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Child ; Diagnosis ; Disease Progression ; Elasticity Imaging Techniques ; Epidemiology ; Fibrosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Fructose ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Genetics ; Glucokinase ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Liver Diseases ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Microbiota ; Natural History ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ; Phospholipases ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Prevalence ; Protons ; Ultrasonography