Usefulness of ultrasonographic estimation of preperitoneal and subcutaneous fat thickness in the diagnosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in diabetic patients

• Published in: Journal of Medical Ultrasonics Vol. 42; no. 3; pp. 357 - 363
• Main Authors: Fukuda, Kazuto, Seki, Yasushi, Ichihi, Masahiro, Okada, Takuya, Hirata, Ayumu, Kogita, Sachiyo, Sawai, Yoshiyuki, Igura, Takumi, Tsugawa, Mamiko, Imai, Yasuharu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo Springer Science and Business Media LLC 01.07.2015; Springer Japan; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abdomen; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Body mass index; Care and treatment; Diabetes; Diabetes Complications; Diabetes Complications - diagnostic imaging; Diabetics; Diagnostic imaging; Fatty liver; Female; Fibrosis; Health aspects; High density lipoprotein; Humans; Imaging; Insulin resistance; Liver; Male; Medical diagnosis; Medical research; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Medicine, Experimental; Metabolic disorders; Middle Aged; Multivariate analysis; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - diagnostic imaging; Original Article; Peritoneum; Peritoneum - diagnostic imaging; Peritoneum - pathology; Radiology; Retrospective Studies; Subcutaneous Fat; Subcutaneous Fat - diagnostic imaging; Subcutaneous Fat - pathology; Thickness; Ultrasonography; Ultrasound; Ultrasound imaging; Young Adult; United States > US; Visceral fat; NAFLD; NASH; Diabetes mellitus; Ultrasonography
• ISSN: 1346-4523; 1613-2254
• DOI: 10.1007/s10396-015-0615-7

Purpose Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) have been regarded as the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome. Abdominal wall fat index (AFI), defined as the ratio of preperitoneal and subcutaneous fat thickness in the abdomen estimated by ultrasonography (US), has been shown to be useful in screening for disorders related to metabolic syndrome. We investigated the relation between AFI and NAFLD/NASH in diabetic patients. Methods The degree of fat accumulation in the liver and the thickness of preperitoneal and subcutaneous fat were determined by US in 340 diabetic patients. An NAFLD fibrosis score (NAFLD-FS) was used to assess the advancement of hepatic fibrosis in NAFLD patients. Results Of all 340 subjects, 209 (61 %) were diagnosed with NAFLD by US. AFI of NAFLD subjects was significantly higher than that of non-NAFLD subjects. Of the 209 subjects with NAFLD, 31 (15 %) were shown to have advanced NASH fibrosis according to NAFLD-FS. Multivariate analysis identified AFI as a significant predictor of advanced fibrosis. Conclusion AFI easily obtained by US was significantly related to the presence of NAFLD and/or advanced hepatic fibrosis in diabetic patients.