Concordance of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Associated Factors among Older Married Couples in China

Abstract

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common liver diseases which affects mainly middle-aged and older adults, resulting in a considerable disease burden. Evidence of concordance on NAFLD and lifestyle factors within older married couples in China is limited. This study aimed to evaluate spousal concordance regarding lifestyle factors and NAFLD among older Chinese couples. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from 58,122 married couples aged 65 years and over recruited from Shenzhen, China during 2018–2020. Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the reciprocal associations in NAFLD within couples after incremental adjustment for potential confounders. Results: There was a marked concordance regarding NAFLD among older married couples in our study. After adjustment for confounders, the odds of having NAFLD were significantly related to the person’s spouse also having NAFLD (1.84 times higher in husbands and 1.79 times higher in wives). The spousal concordance of NAFLD was similar, irrespective of gender. Couples with both a higher educational level and abdominal obesity were more likely to have a concordance of NAFLD compared to couples with both a lower educational level and no abdominal obesity, respectively (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Our results indicated that health care professionals should bear in mind the marked spousal concordance with respect to risk factors and NAFLD for the prevention and early detection of the highly prevalent disease in older Chinese adults.

Sociodemographic and lifestyle determinants of multimorbidity among community-dwelling older adults: findings from 346,760 SHARE participants

“…Older adults enrolled in SHARE received face-to-face questionnaires, physical examinations, electrocardiography measurement, laboratory biochemistry tests, abdomens B-ultrasound tests and etc by trained staff of local community health service centers [ 18 – 20 ]. Data was collected in medical examination rooms at local community health centers in the older adult residential areas.…”

“…Data was collected in medical examination rooms at local community health centers in the older adult residential areas. The full details of the survey procedures, measureing methods and baseline variables have been described in previous publications [ 18 – 20 ]. In brief, all participants completed a standardized questionnaire including sociodemographic status, lifestyle, medical history, family health history, genetic history, medication use, hospitalization history, immunization history, etc [ 18 ].…”

“…Serum creatinine was used to calculate the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation for Chinese [ 21 ]. The color Doppler ultrasound scan of the abdomens was performed to determine the presence of fatty liver disease [ 20 ].…”

“…Hyperuricemia was defined as a serum uric acid level > 420 umol/L [ 24 ]. The typical manifestations of fatty liver disease were enlargement of liver and blunt edge Angle [ 20 , 25 ]. The near field echo of liver was diffusely enhanced, higher than that of spleen and kidney, while the far field echo was weakened.…”

“…The near field echo of liver was diffusely enhanced, higher than that of spleen and kidney, while the far field echo was weakened. Hepatic duct structure was not clear [ 20 , 25 ].…”