A method of diagnosing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease with the calculation of the steatosis index

Abstract

Objective. To work out the index for diagnosing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in women with metabolic syndrome (MS) in postmenopause using generally available markers. Materials and methods. 62 females with NAFLD and MS in early postreproductive period took part in the study. They were compared to 24 relatively healthy females not suffering from obesity in postmenopause. The average age of the patients was 49,9 ± 1,1. Hepatic steatosis was diagnosed by ultrasound examination. The mathematic model of hepatic steatosis index (HSI) calculation included: body mass index (BMI), waist size (WS), triglycerides and low-density lipoproteins (LDL). Results. BMI and WS in patients with MS and NAFLD in postmenopause were considerably more than in relatively healthy women. Hypertriglyceridemia and an increase of LDL in blood serum were noted in patients with steatosis. Biometric and laboratory data were included in the mathematical formula which allows to calculate HSI. With HSI 0,5 and more NAFLD is diagnosed in women in post menopause, when HSI is lower than 0,5 it is not diagnosed. Indicators of sensitivity and specificity of the method were 98,4 % and 95,85 % respectively. Conclusions. The minimally invasive method suggested above allows to reveal hepatic steatosis in females with MS in early postreproductive period. High diagnostic characteristics of the method are worth mentioning, as well as the possibility to be widely used thanks to simple biometric and laboratory data employed.