FREQUENCY OF RISK FACTORS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF METABOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE (MAFLD) IN A CENTER OF CONCENTRATION OF LIVER DISEASES

Introduction and Objectives

Metabolic fatty liver disease (MAFLD) includes a wide spectrum of presentations, ranging from simple steatosis and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis to liver cirrhosis, leading to hepatocellular carcinoma; the etiology of this is multifactorial, with few studies on risk factors in the Mexican population.

Objective

Determine the frequency of risk factors in patients with MAFLD in a liver disease center: CEIHET, Mexico. Material and methods: An observational, cross-sectional and retrospective study selected 587 records from the CEIHET, Hidalgo, of patients with a diagnosis of MAFLD, from January 2017 to May 2020. Determine the frequency of risk factors. Statistical analysis was performed through measures of central tendency, dispersion and correlation.

Results

587 files were analyzed, 56% (n = 329) women; mean age of 51.4 years. The group with simple steatosis had a mean age of 38 years, while in advanced liver cirrhosis, it was 63 years (p 0.005). In schooling, basic education was found for liver cirrhosis in 73.12% (n = 215), and, in previous stages, it was 21.84% (n = 64). In the AHF and APP, type 2 diabetes is shown as the main risk factor with 65.92% (n = 387) and 58.77% (n = 345), respectively; 6 out of 10 patients had two or more risk factors. 77.3% (n = 454) of patients did not meet the standards of adequate physical activity. Regarding BMI, 73% of patients with simple steatosis were overweight or obese, while, with liver cirrhosis, it was present in 98% without ascites or edema.

Discussion

A prevalence of fatty liver disease of 55.75% was found, being the main reason for liver Disease consultation, constituting the major cause of liver damage in females. The age of patients increases in direct proportion to the severity of liver damage. Of relevance is education, showing RR of 9.2 (p = 0.001), which indicates that the lower the level of education, a later detection is carried out. 77.3% of these patients did not comply with the physical activity standards established by the WHO. When studying the BMI, we noticed the presence of overweight/obesity in at least 88% of the population, correlating with that established in studies in the USA, where the Latino population has the highest BMI and in the highest frequency.

Conclusions

The present study shows that sedentary lifestyle, overweight, obesity and type 2 diabetes are the main determining factors for the presence of MAFLD in the Mexican population, and therefore the importance of its detection and management, to prevent its progression and improve the quality of life of patients.

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.