Endocrine Abstracts

Background

Currently, the overweight and obesity influence on human organs and systems is being studied all over the world, which are based on the violation of metabolic processes of fat and carbon metabolism, hyperglycemia with glucose toxicity, insulin resistance, obesity and metabolic syndrome. NAFLD progresses not only from steatosis to steatohepatitis (NASH), but is accompanied by liver fibrosis with transformation into cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in 20% of NASH patients. It is fibrosis that determines the further prognosis in patients and the risk of their death.

Objectives

To study the impact of overweight and obesity on liver fibrosis in NAFLD patients.

Methods

The object of the study was 59 patients without concomitant pathology with different body mass index and signs of steatosis and fibrosis according to ultrasound examination in combination with changes in the lipid profile or impaired glucose tolerance. for everyone Anthropometric examinations (weight, height, BMI), laboratory and instrumental examinations, biochemical studies to determine the functional state of the liver, liver elastometry and serum markers to determine liver fibrosis and steatosis (FIB4, NAFLD) were performed for each patient.

Results

Among the examined patients, there were 28 men (24.35%) and 31 women (26.95%) with an average age of 48.71 ± 2.37 and 51.1 ± 1.78. All patients were divided into groups depending on their body weight: Group I – normal weight (18.5–24.9 kg/m²), II – overweight (25–29.9 kg/m²), III – obesity I degree (30–34.9 kg/m²). A direct relationship was established between weight and gender (r = 0.30, P < 0.05), which confirms the tendency to overweight in women. Going to the lipid profile, a direct relationship was established between BMI and very low density lipoproteins and triglycerides (r = 0.324, P <0.05 and r = 0.318, P <0.05). Observed growth rates of ALT, AST indices in the biochemical blood test with an increase in body weight (r = 0.679, P <0.05; r = 0.674, P <0.05). A direct strong relationship was found between BMI and the mean value of liver elastography data (r = 0.74, P <0.05), non-invasive FIB4 test (r = 0.88, P <0.05) and NFS (r = 0.89, P <0.05).

Conclusion

Overweight and obesity are the foundation for the fibrotic processes development in the liver, and its significant increase leads to pronounced fibrotic changes (F2–F3 according to METAVIR).