Clinical Profile of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and its Correlation with Metabolic Syndrome and Cardiovascular Risk

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been projected, within the next 20 years, to become the major cause of liver-related morbidity and mortality as well as a leading indication for liver transplantation. Affected South Asian Indians are at higher risk for the development of metabolic syndrome (MS), type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. There is a dearth of data related to NAFLD and its various sequelae and correlation with cardiovascular disease in South Asia. Materials and Methods: It was an observational, prospective study conducted over 2 years on 80 patients in a tertiary care hospital in Mumbai. All patients diagnosed with NAFLD were investigated for MS according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria, and a relationship between NAFLD and MS was correlated. Results: MS was found to be present in 72.5% of the patients. Significant results were obtained while correlating MS parameters and fatty liver grading, implying that patients with a higher fatty liver grading were more likely to have derangements in metabolic markers. Conclusion: NAFLD was found to be associated with an increased incidence of MS and thereby a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, warranting a high index of suspicion for both. A higher ultrasound grading of fatty liver was found to be associated with an increased incidence of MS.