Frequency of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Adults with Diabetes Mellitus

Objective: To compare the frequency of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in patients with diabetes of different age groups, body mass indexes and duration of diabetes. Study Design: Comparative cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of General Medicine, Combined Military Hospital, Quetta Pakistan, from Jun to Nov 2019. Methodology: One hundred thirty-two patients of either gender with diabetes for more than one year were included. All patients underwent ultrasound to scan for fatty liver, and a consultant radiologist confirmed the findings. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease was diagnosed as per operational definition. Results: Of the total 132, 89(67.5%) were males, and 43(32.5%) were females. The mean age of the patients was 49.34±5.76 years. The mean weight of the patients was 72.91±13.40 Kg, the mean height was 1.56±0.09 meters, and 6.35±2.99 years was the mean duration of diabetes. Most patients were 46-60 years (78.8%). NAFLD was seen in 58.5% of patients with diabetes with female preponderance. Conclusion: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease was found to be more frequent in patients of the age group 46-60 years, and also it has a strong correlation with body mass index of >25 kg/m2 and longer duration of diabetes. A significant proportion of patients with diabetes were also found to have ‘lean non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.