Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: Considering the high incidence and prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in the Iranian society and the limited number of studies to investigate its associated risk factors, the current study was designed to identify any relevant risk factor of this disease.

Methods: The present case-control study was performed among 150 nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients and 150 normal liver participants who attended to gastroenterology clinics in Ilam city, Iran during 2014-2015. All demographic data, clinical trials and health behaviors associated with lifestyle such as nutritional status, smoking, physical activities were collected and compared between two groups.

Results: Among a total of 300 participants in the current study, the male female ratio was 46.54% and the mean±standard deviation of all participants was 42.13±12.15 years. The mean values of total cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL), alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were significantly higher in cases than controls group (P< 0.0001). A significant relationship was revealed between positive familial history, marriage, and low physical activities with NAFLD (P< 0.05). In the patient's group, consumption of red meat was significantly higher and dairy intake was significantly lower compared to the control group (P< 0.05). Using the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the adjusted odds ratio for variables of waist circumference, triglyceride, ALT and body mass index (BMI) were statistically significant [1.11, (1.04-1.18); 2.58, (1.01-6.67); 5.34, (1.84-15.52) and 7.28,) 1.89-27.99) respectively] (P< 0.05). Also, a significant association was observed among the variables of ALT, AST and BMI with the severity grade of NAFLD (P< 0.05).