Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Tanzania: Prevalence, Determinants, and Correlation with Triglycerides-Glucose Index in Overweight and Obese Individuals

Abstract

Background Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is closely associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS), is rarely reported in Tanzania, where MetS is prevalent. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent and associated factors of this condition in overweight and obese individuals and to correlate standard ultrasound diagnosis with triglyceride-glucose index (TyG) and TyG-body mass index (TyG-BMI). Methods A cross-sectional analysis was performed in 181 adult outpatients attending a general medical clinic. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were collected and analyzed using STATA 13. The presence of fatty liver was detected by ultrasound. The discriminatory power of TyG and TyG-BMI for diagnosing NAFLD was evaluated using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) Curve analysis and the Area Under the ROC Curve (AUC) was reported. Results The overall prevalence of NAFLD was 30.4%. The prevalence’s of NAFLD in patients with hypertriglycemia, class III obesity, class II obesity, and diabetes were 59.6%, 50%, 38%, and 37.5%, respectively. One third of patients with NAFLD had significant steatosis (stages 2 and 3). NAFLD was strongly predicted by hyperuricemia (≥ 360 µmol/L) (p = 0.04) and TyG ≥ 8.99 (p = 0.003). The best cut-off values of TyG and TyG-BMI to predict NAFLD were 8.99 [AUC 0.735; sensitivity 70.9%, specificity 79.3%] and 312 [AUC 0.711; sensitivity 60% and specificity 75.4%] respectively. Conclusions The prevalence of NAFLD is high among people with metabolic disorders in Tanzania, with a significant proportion of asymptomatic participants having an advanced disease. Simple screening tools such as TyG and TyG-BMI can be used to detect these cases early.