Prevalence and risk factors of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease during 2014–2018 from three cities of Liaoning Province: an epidemiological survey

Abstract

ObjectiveTo investigate the incidence and characteristics of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) in individuals undergoing physical examination in Liaoning Province (China).DesignRetrospective study.SettingSingle centre.ParticipantsAdults who underwent routine health examination at Xikang Medical Center in Liaoning Province (Shenyang, Dandong and Dalian cities) between January 2014 and December 2018.ResultsAmong the 204 394 included subjects, 71 756 were diagnosed with MAFLD, accounting for 35.28%. The total prevalence of MAFLD in Shenyang, Dandong and Dalian cities over the past 5 years was 35.8%, 40.41% and 31.7%, respectively. Men had a prevalence of 46.12%, which was higher than in women (21.80%). The percentage of MAFLD in body mass index (BMI) <23 kg/m2 and ≥23 kg/m2 was 6.49% and 53.23%, respectively. In all subjects, BMI, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fasting blood glucose (FBG), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT), blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine (SCr), serum uric acid (SUA), haematocrit (HCT), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and urine protein were independently associated with MAFLD (all p<0.001). In lean subjects, DBP, FBG, TG, TC, LDL-C, HDL-C, AST, ALP, GGT, SCr, SUA, HCT and MCV were independently associated with MAFLD (all p<0.001).ConclusionThe prevalence of MAFLD in Liaoning Province was found to be associated with sex, cities with different economic statuses, BMI and multiple metabolic indicators.