Fatty liver in kids tied to metabolic syndrome

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In overweight or obese children, fatty liver disease appears to be a specific risk factor for the metabolic syndrome, a precursor of heart disease and diabetes, according to a study appearing in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.

Dr. Jeffrey B. Schwimmer, at the University of California, San Diego, and his associates studied 150 boys and girls ranging in age from 5 to 17 years who had been referred to a specialized clinic for obesity and/or suspected fatty liver disease.

The patients, who indeed had biopsy-proven "nonalcoholic" fatty liver disease, were compared with 150 "controls" who were the same age and had the same degree of obesity but who did not have fatty liver disease.

The results showed that the kids with fatty liver disease, compared to the control subjects, "had a significantly higher frequency" of abdominal obesity, high cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, and high fasting glucose levels -- all factors that make up the metabolic syndrome.

In fact, 50 percent of the kids with fatty liver disease could be classified as having metabolic syndrome, compared with 15 percent of those without fatty liver.

Schwimmer and his associates conclude that "the identification of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in a child should prompt global counseling to address nutrition, physical activity, and avoidance of smoking to prevent the development of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes."

SOURCE: Circulation, July 8, 2008.