Features of the course of non-alcoholic liver steatosis in women of reproductive age and in menopause

Abstract

Introduction. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) increases with age. The main risk factor for NAFLD and the progression of liver fibrosis is obesity. However, the disease also occurs in 7% of people with normal body weight, mainly in young women with normal levels of liver enzymes, in whom liver disease can nevertheless progress.Aim. To assess the features of clinical and laboratory manifestations of non-alcoholic hepatic steatosis (NASP) in women of reproductive age and in menopause, depending on the degree of obesity.Materials and methods. We examined 86 women with NAS and obesity, of which 49 were women of reproductive age (37.3 ± 1.7 years) and 37 patients in menopause (51.3 ± 1.0 years). Determined: transaminases, total bilirubin, glucose, lipid spectrum, insulin, leptin, interleukin-6 (IL-6), vasculoendothelial growth factor (VEGF); body mass index (BMI), atherogenicity index (AI), and HOMA-IR index were calculated. Liver steatosis was determined by ultrasound, fibrosis was excluded by fibroelastography.Results. The clinic in both groups of women was poor; there were no signs of liver fibrosis. In women with liver steatosis with concomitant obesity in reproductive age and menopause, dyslipidemia, hyperleptinemia, increased levels of IL-6 and signs of endothelial damage in the form of VEGF hyperproduction are recorded. At the same time, dyslipidemia and hyperleptinemia are significant in menopause, and in women with steatosis at reproductive age, signs of endothelial damage are more pronounced.Conclusion. In both groups of women with the clinical form of NASP, most of the studied laboratory parameters marked the transition to stage 1 obesity, leptin made it possible to differentiate almost all degrees of obesity, and the production of IL-6 and VEGF significantly increased at stages 2–3 of obesity.