Prevalence and outcomes of non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) among Asian American adults in the United States

• DOI: 10.1111/liv.14038
• Publication Date: 2018-12-31T22:24:14Z
• Authors: Pegah Golabi; James Paik; Jessica P. Hwang; Su Wang; Hannah M. Lee; Zobair M. Younossi
• Keywords: Adult; Aged, 80 and over; Liver Cirrhosis; Male; 0301 basic medicine; Adolescent; Asian; Smoking; Middle Aged; Nutrition Surveys; United States; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Logistic Models; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Cardiovascular Diseases; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Risk Factors; Prevalence; Humans; Female; Obesity; Aged

AbstractBackground & AimsNon‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects about 25% of the general population worldwide. Although epidemiology of NAFLD is well studied in the United States, there is paucity of data for the Asian Americans. Our aim was to assess the prevalence and risk factors for NAFLD among Asian Americans.MethodsWe utilized NHANES data for 2011‐2016. We defined NAFLD using recently derived US‐FLI. Relative risks (RRs) and population attributable fractions (PAFs) of metabolic components on atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and advanced fibrosis were calculated for Asian Americans, and these rates were compared to non‐Hispanic whites.ResultsNAFLD prevalence was 18.3% among Asian Americans and 28.4% among non‐Hispanic whites. Asian Americans with NAFLD had lower BMI and waist circumference than non‐Hispanic whites with NAFLD and were less likely to have metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer and incident ASCVD (P < 0.05). Hyperlipidaemia had the highest attributable fraction (76.6%) for risk of ASCVD among Asian Americans with NAFLD, followed by diabetes (24.0%), current smoking (9.2%), and obesity (3.7%). Advanced fibrosis in Asian American with NAFLD was independently associated with presence of type 2 diabetes (RR = 2.70, 95% CI: 1.00‐7.27).ConclusionsAsian Americans have lower prevalence of NAFLD than non‐Hispanic whites. However, Asian Americans with NAFLD have similar risk factors for advanced fibrosis and ASCVD than non‐Hispanic Whites.