| Abstract: | BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is associated with fatty liver (FL) disease. Gender differences in this association are not known. AIM: The aim of the present study was to determine gender-wise association between FL and MS components (using Asia-Pacific guidelines 2007) in an urban south Indian cohort with normal liver function tests (LFT). METHODS: Records of consecutive attendees of a Master Health Check up program were reviewed for age, gender, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, fasting blood sugar (FBS), high-density lipoproteins, triglyceride (TG) levels, presence of FL by ultrasound. The cohort was grouped gender-wise as FL and nonfatty liver (NFL). Foreign nationals; those with alcohol intake >20 g/day; and those with diabetes, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, chronic liver disease, or abnormal LFT were excluded. STATISTICS: Chi-square, gender-wise univariate and logistic regression analyses of each MS component for FL, relative risk (RR), and 95 % confidence interval (CI) for significant factors (p < 0.05 and RR or log odds >1.5) were calculated. RESULTS: Of the 1,075 (63 % males) cases included, 45.8 % had FL. Gender (log odds 1.6 compared to women) and BMI ≥25 kg/m(2) (RR 1.6 % to 95 % CI 1.3 to 1.9; log odds 2.2) were the only factors associated with FL in men. In women, age ≥40 years (log odds 2.3), fasting blood sugar (FBS) ≥100 mg/dL (RR 1.8-1.4 to 2.3; log odds 1.9), and TG ≥150 mg/dL (RR 1.7-1.3 to 2.1; log odds 1.7) were independently associated with FL. CONCLUSION: There was a gender-wise difference in MS components associated with hepatic steatosis and normal LFT in a south Indian urban cohort. |
