Clinical epidemiology of prevalence and cardiovascular risk factors of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease among the elderly agricultural and fishing population in Taiwan

Abstract

Purpose: To explore any gender-related differences in prevalence of and cardiovascular risk factors related to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) amongst the elderly agricultural and fishing population in Taipei, Taiwan. Methods:The study participants were conducted with a total of 6,511 (3,971 males and 2,540 females) healthy elderly subjects voluntarily admitted to a teaching hospital for a physical check-up in 2010. Blood samples and real-time ultrasound-proved fatty liver sonography results were collected. Results:The prevalence of NAFLD for this elderly study population was found to be 27.2%, the proportion revealing a statistically significant decrease with increasing population age (p<0.001). Females showed a greater prevalence of NAFLD than did males (34.1% vs. 22.7%, p-value forχ 2 -test <0.001). Using multiple logistic regression analysis, in addition to female gender, a younger age, higher ALT, higher BMI, presence of hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, lower HDL, and higher fasting plasma glucose were the significant factors associated with NAFLD. Gender-related differences as regards associated factors were also revealed. For females, hypertension (OR=1.18, 95%CI: 1.00-1.40), and lower HDL (OR=1.31, 95%CI: 1.10-1.56) were significantly related to NAFLD but these were not so for males. Conclusion:Several gender-related differences were noted pertaining to the prevalence of and relationship between hypertension, lower HDL, and NAFLD in this occupational elderly study population.