Determinants of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in young people: Maternal, neonatal, and adolescent factors.

Abstract

AimTo assess the impact of maternal, neonatal, and adolescent factors on the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in a cohort of 14- to 19-year-old adolescents.MethodsThis study is part of the Early Vascular Ageing in the YOUth study, a single-center cross-sectional study conducted in western Austria. Maternal and neonatal factors were extracted from the mother-child booklet, adolescent factors were evaluated by a face-to-face interview, physical examination, and fasting blood analyses. Liver fat content was assessed by controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) using signals acquired by FibroScan® (Echosense, Paris, France). The association of maternal, neonatal, and adolescent factors with CAP values was analyzed using linear regression models.ResultsIn total, 595 adolescents (27.2% male) aged 17.0 ± 1.3 years were included. 4.9% (n = 29) showed manifest NAFLD with CAP values above the 90th percentile. Male sex (p ConclusionComponents of the metabolic syndrome were the most important predictors of adolescent liver fat content. Therefore, prevention of NAFLD should focus on lifestyle modification in childhood and adolescence.