A study in JAMA Pediatrics has linked nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with type 2 diabetes in children.
At present, NAFLD is associated with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes in adults; however, the association between NAFLD and type 2 diabetes in children has not been established. To address this concern, researchers determined the prevalence of type 2 diabetes and prediabetes in a cohort of 675 children with NAFLD.
Here's what you need to know:
1. Almost 30 percent of children with NAFLD also had type 2 diabetes or prediabetes.
2. Female children with NAFLD had a five times greater chance of having type 2 diabetes and a 1.6 times greater chance of having prediabetes than male children with NAFLD.
2. The researchers also found 43.2 percent of those with type 2 diabetes and 34.2 percent of those with prediabetes had nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; comparatively, NASH was only present in 22 percent of those with normal glucose.
The researchers concluded that type 2 diabetes and prediabetes in children are potential risk factors for long-term adverse hepatic outcomes, including NASH.