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Risk Score Model for Predicting Sonographic Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Children and Adolescents
Sayed-Mohsen Hosseini1, Saeid Mousavi, Parinaz Poursafa
1Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Insights
A new risk score effectively identifies children with sonographic non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This simple tool uses easily measured factors, aiding early detection in pediatric populations.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Hepatology
- Metabolic Syndrome Research
- Diagnostic Tool Development
Background:
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a growing concern in children.
- Early identification of pediatric NAFLD is crucial for timely intervention.
- Current diagnostic methods can be invasive or costly.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a simple risk score for identifying children at high risk of sonographic NAFLD.
- To provide a practical tool for screening pediatric populations.
- To investigate easily measurable factors associated with pediatric NAFLD.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 962 children aged 6-18 years in Iran.
- Participants categorized into normal-weight, overweight, and obese groups.
- Logistic regression used to derive risk score coefficients; ROC curve analysis for performance assessment.
Main Results:
- Data from 931 participants analyzed; 16.8% showed sonographic NAFLD.
- Key associated factors identified: age, sex, BMI, waist circumference, and serum triglycerides.
- A risk score of 50 was calculated for sonographic NAFLD.
Conclusions:
- This study presents the first risk score for sonographic NAFLD in the pediatric age group.
- The score utilizes easily obtainable clinical and biochemical parameters.
- Findings suggest a potential link between the hypertriglyceridemic-waist phenotype and pediatric NAFLD.
Objective:
This study aimed to develop and test the validity of a risk score to be used as a simple tool to identify those children at high risk of sonographic non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Methods:
This cross-sectional study was conducted among 962 participants aged 6-18 years in Isfahan, Iran. They consisted of three groups of nearly equal number of normal-weight, overweight and obese individuals. Coefficients of the logistic regression models were used to assign a score value for each variable and the composite sonographic NAFLD risk score was calculated as the sum of those scores. Performance of model was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve procedure.
Findings:
Data of 931 participants was included in the analysis. The sonographic findings of 16.8% of participants were compatible with NAFLD. Age, sex, body mass index, waist circumference and serum triglycerides level were diagnosed as factors associated with NAFLD. The risk score was calculated as 50 for sonographic NAFLD.
Conclusion:
This study, to the best of our knowledge is the first of its kind in the pediatric age group, focuses on predicting sonographic NAFLD from easily-measured factors. It may suggest an association of hypertriglyceridemic-waist phenotype with NAFLD in the pediatric age group.
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