Endocrine Abstracts

Background and objectives: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is highly prevalent in patients with diabetes as well as the vice versa. It is crucial to identify the characteristics of this group of patients in order to prevent the development, the progression as well as the complications of the disease. We have studied characteristics of patients having both NAFLD and diabetes who are attending a tertiary care institute in Sri Lanka.

Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted from August 2020 to March 2021 at the Diabetes Unit of the National Hospital of Sri Lanka. All the patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria who met the diagnosis of NAFLD according to the NHANES III criteria or/and the USS criteria were recruited in to the study. After obtaining informed written consent, the data was collected using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Categorical and numerical variables were analyzed using Chi-square and independent sample t-tests respectively.

Results: Seventy fur patients who met the diagnostic criteria of NAFLD were enrolled in to the study. The mean age was 56.8 years (range 23–79) and 77% were females. The mean weight was 66.6 (S.D.=12.1)kg and BMI was 27.4 (S.D.=4.7)kg/m⁻². 47.3% met both biochemical and USS criteria. Furthermore, 12.2% (n=9) met only the biochemical criteria while 40.5% (n=30) met only the USS criteria. Majority (67.6%) were receiving a monthly income of SLR <30 000.00 per month and majority were unemployed (73%). A larger proportion were having type 2 diabetes for >10 years. Mean HbA1c was 8.9 (S.D.=1.9)%.

Conclusions: NAFLD with diabetes is associated with overweight, poor glycaemic control, poor income and unemployment indicating the future focus groups for disease prevention and management. Further large scale studies are needed to evaluate the risk factors in more detail.