Irshad Ahmad Parry, Riyaz Ahmad Bhat, Showkat Ali Zargar, Ashraf Ganie and Imran Khan
Background: This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of fatty liver and its associations with the components of metabolic syndrome in school children of Kashmir valley of north India.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 1112 children aged 4-18 years were selected from different schools of Kashmir valley. Anthropometric assessments, blood pressure measurements and fasting blood samples were obtained after proper consent. Ultrasonography was performed by a single sonologist on prefixed dates. Fatty liver was defined by already established criteria for fatty liver disease. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to Adult treatment panel III criteria. Analysis and inferences were drawn using Student’s test, chi-square test, Man Whitney U test and logistic regression analysis.
Results: The overall prevalence of fatty liver was 7.4%. The Prevalence of fatty liver in children with metabolic syndrome was 44.4%% and in obese children it was 61%. Body Mass Index, waist circumference and metabolic syndrome are strongly correlated with the prevalence of fatty liver.
Conclusion: This study is the first study from India on the prevalence of fatty liver disease in children. The estimates of our study are unexpectedly high and immediate attention is needed to address the problem.
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Journal of Metabolic Syndrome received 48 citations as per Google Scholar report
