Lean people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have a higher mortality rate than NAFLD patients who are obese or overweight, a new study finds
So there's at least one benefit of being overweight or obese than being lean! Researchers from the University of Kentucky Medical Center found that lean people with NAFLD have a higher mortality rate than obese or overweight people with the same disease.
"Our comparison of lean patients and their overweight or obese counterparts gives us clues about risk factors for this disease that go beyond a person's weight," said Paul Angulo from the University Of Kentucky Medical Center, in a press statement. "These findings have implications both for future research and for current standards of care. We must not assume that patients of relatively healthy weight can't have fatty liver disease."
The study reviewed clinical trials and data conducted and collected over 20 years, involving more than 1,000 patients who were diagnosed with NAFLD. Patients with an average BMI of 23 were considered lean while those with an average BMI of 33 were included in the non-lean group.
Being lean has always been considered healthy. In the study too, the lean participants had less insulin resistance and lower levels of a liver enzyme called alanine aminotransferase (ALT) that correlates with liver damage. The lean participants also had lower levels of fatty deposits on the liver and less advanced fibrosis. Despite these healthy conditions, they showed more severe inflammation of the liver.
In 2005, 483 patients underwent a liver biopsy. Of these, 28 patients who were considered lean died.
"About 30 percent of the U.S. population suffers from NAFLD, and the prevalence of this condition is increasing. Although we often associate fatty liver disease with obese patients, these results suggest that possible signs of liver disease secondary to NAFLD in lean patients should be taken very seriously," said Dr. Angulo.
Lean people with NAFLD are mostly male and non-Caucasian. Such people are less likely to have chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.
Researchers plan on conducting further studies that look into this association beyond a person's BMI. They will also conduct a study on patients who have not yet had a liver biopsy.
According to Hopkins Medicine, up to 20 percent of Americans have non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases.
Findings of the study were presented during the Digestive Disease Week.
