Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and microvascular complications in type 2 diabetes

AIM: To evaluate the correlation between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and microvascular complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

METHODS: Data were obtained from 1217 inpatients with T2DM (757 females, 460 males; aged 63.39 ± 12.28 years). NAFLD was diagnosed by hepatic ultrasonography. Diabetic nephropathy (DN), diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), and diabetic retinopathy (DR) were diagnosed according to their respective criteria. The prevalence of NAFLD and the independent correlations of clinical characteristics with NAFLD were determined by cross-tabulation and logistic regression, respectively.

RESULTS: Approximately 61% of inpatients with T2DM in Qingdao, China had NAFLD, which decreased significantly with increase in age and prolonged course of diabetes. The prevalence of NAFLD in patients presenting with DN, DPN and DR was 49.4%, 57.2% and 54.9%, respectively. These rates were significantly lower than those of patients without DN, DPN and DR (65.9%, 65.6% and 66.1%, respectively, P < 0.05). Participants with NAFLD had greater body weight, waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), fasting blood glucose (FBG), hemoglobin A1c, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, γ-glutamyltransferase, blood pressure, as well as triglyceride (TG) levels and lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) concentration than those without NAFLD (P < 0.05). NAFLD was positively correlated with BMI, WC, TG, FBG, diastolic blood pressure, and systolic blood pressure but negatively correlated with the duration of diabetes, DR, DPN, DN, and HDL.

CONCLUSION: Despite the benign nature of NAFLD, efforts should be directed toward early diagnosis, intensive blood glucose and blood pressure control, and effective dyslipidemia correction.