Abstract
ObjectiveThis study aimed to retrospectively assess the association between prolactin (PRL) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Design and settingA retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted at a single hospital in Anhui, China.ParticipantsA total of 406 patients with T2DM (230 men and 176 women) was included.Outcome measuresP values for the independent t-test, the Mann-Whitney rank-sum test, the Spearman correlation analysis and multiple logistic regression models were used to explore the association between PRL and NAFLD in patients with T2DM.ResultsThe results indicated that in both men and women, the levels of PRL were significantly lower in the T2DM with NAFLD group than in the T2DM without NAFLD group (men: 9.56 ng/mL vs 10.36 ng/mL, women: 10.38 ng/mL vs 12.97 ng/mL). In male patients, the levels of PRL were negatively correlated with hip circumference (r=−0.141, p=0.032), homoeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (C-peptide) (r=−0.141, p=0.032) and triglyceride (TG) (r=−0.252, p=0.000) values and inversely correlated with high-density lipoprotein (r=0.147, p=0.025) levels. In female patients, PRL levels were negatively related to body mass index (r=−0.192, p=0.011), diastolic blood pressure (r=−0.220, p=0.003), waist circumference (r=−0.152, p=0.044), hip circumference (r=−0.157, p=0.037) and TG (r=−0.258, p=0.001) values. Logistic regression analysis revealed a negative relationship between PRL and NAFLD (men: OR 0.891, 95% CI 0.803 to 0.989, p=0.031; women: OR 0.874, 95% CI 0.797 to 0.957, p=0.004). As PRL levels increased, NAFLD prevalence decreased in both sexes (men: p=0.012, women: p=0.013).ConclusionOur results suggest that low levels of PRL in the physiological range were markers of NAFLD in patients with T2DM and that PRL within the biologically high range may play a protective role in the pathogenesis of NAFLD.