Obesity Is the Most Common Risk Factor for Chronic Liver Disease: Results From a Risk Stratification Pathway Using
Rebecca Harris1, Timothy R Card2, Toby Delahooke3
1National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
Introduction:
Obesity has been associated with liver fibrosis, yet guidelines do not emphasize it as an independent risk factor in which to have a high index of suspicion of advanced disease. We aimed to elucidate the effect of a raised body mass index on the risk of liver disease using data from a community risk stratification pathway.
Methods:
We prospectively recruited patients from a primary care practice with hazardous alcohol use and/or type 2 diabetes and/or obesity. Subjects were invited for a transient elastography reading. A threshold of ≥8.0 kPa defined an elevated reading consistent with clinically significant liver disease.
Results:
Five hundred seventy-six patients participated in the pathway; of which, 533 patients had a reliable reading and 66 (12.4%) had an elevated reading. Thirty-one percent of patients with an elevated reading had obesity as their only risk factor. The proportion of patients with an elevated reading was similar among those with obesity (8.9%) to patients with more recognized solitary risk factors (type 2 diabetes 10.8%; hazardous alcohol use 4.8%). Obesity in combination with other risk factors further increased the proportion of patients with an elevated reading. In multivariate logistic regression, increasing body mass index and type 2 diabetes were significantly associated with an elevated reading.
Discussion:
Obesity as a single or additive risk factor for chronic liver disease is significant. Future case-finding strategies using a risk factor approach should incorporate obesity within proposed algorithms.
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