Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common cause of impaired liver functions. It is associated with hepatic and adipose tissue insulin resistance (IR) as well as decreased whole-body insulin sensitivity. Thyroid hormones are important for the intrahepatic metabolism of lipids. Thyroid disorders have been associated with IR due to various mechanisms such as altered insulin secretion and lipid levels.

Aim: The aim of our study was to assess thyroid functions, thyroid autoimmunity and IR in non-diabetic patients with NAFLD.

Material and methods: The study was conducted on 90 non-diabetic subjects (60 patients with NAFLD and 30 subjects with normal liver). Both groups were sex matched. Ultrasonography was used to categorize the study subjects into NAFLD and normal liver groups. Thyroid functions and thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPO-Ab) were assessed in all subjects. Homeostatic model assessment (HOMA-IR) was used to assess IR in the study population.

Results: Our study showed a highly-significant positive correlation between NAFLD and IR (P<0.001). It also showed a significant positive correlation between NAFLD and thyroid functions with higher prevalence of subclinical thyroid dysfunction in NAFLD patients (P=0.02). Thyroid functions didn’t show any statistically significant correlations with IR, but TPO-Ab showed significant positive correlation with IR (P=0.02) within the total study population.

Conclusion: In non-diabetic patients, IR and thyroid dysfunction have strong correlations with NAFLD. The role of thyroid autoimmunity in this relationship needs further assessment.