Fatty liver and the risk of heart disease in overweight children

This is according to a study published in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association.

This was found in a case-controlled study of 150 overweight children with biopsy-proven non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and 150 overweight children without NAFLD. Participants were well matched in age, sex, and severity of obesity. More than half of the children in each group were in the 99th percentile for body mass index (BMI).

The overweight children with NAFLD had significant cardiovascular risk including higher levels of fasting glucose, insulin, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, and higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure than the control group. The children with NAFLD also had significantly lower levels of high-density lipoprotein than the control group.

Researchers found the distribution of the disease by race and ethnicity was also significantly different, with more Hispanic and Asian children in the fatty liver group and more white and black children in the control group. They also found that children with metabolic syndrome were five times more likely to have NAFLD as overweight and obese children without metabolic syndrome.