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Updated: Jun 26, 2026
In Vitro Modeling of Fat Deposition in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease
Published on: July 19, 2024
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in asymptomatic Brazilian adolescents
Raquel Rocha1, Helma Pinchemel Cotrim, Almir Galvão Vieira Bitencourt
1Federal University of Bahia, School of Medicine, Bahia 40110-150, Brazil. raquelrocha2@yahoo.com.br
Aim:
To evaluate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) among asymptomatic Brazilian adolescents.
Methods:
Transversal observational study included asymptomatic adolescents with central obesity from private and public schools in Salvador-Bahia, northeastern Brazil. The children answered a questionnaire that included age, gender, race, and medical history, and were submitted to a complete physical exam and abdominal ultrasound. Biochemical exams included: ALT, AST, GGT, C reactive protein (CRP), fasting glucose, insulin, cholesterol and triglycerides. Criteria for NAFLD included: the presence of steatosis in ultrasound and/or high level of ALT, negative or occasional historic of intake of alcohol (
Results:
From October, 2005 to October, 2006, the study included 1801 subjects between 11 and 18 years of age and a mean age of 13.7+/-2.0 years. One hundred ninety-nine had central obesity. The prevalence of NAFLD was 2.3%, most of whom were male and white. Insulin resistance (IR) was observed in 22.9% of them and had positive correlations with ALT and GGT (P<0.05). Elevated CRP was observed in 6.9% of the cases; however, it was not associated with WC, IR or liver enzymes.
Conclusion:
The prevalence of NAFLD in Brazilian adolescents was low. The ethnicity may have influence this frequency in the population studied, which had a large proportion of African descendents.
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